On 9/10/2011 9:00 PM, F. George McDuffee wrote:
distro was:
alt.politics.obama,can.talk.guns,talk.politics.gun s,rec.crafts.metalworking,nyc.politics
pruned to RCM

On 11 Sep 2011 00:36:04 -0000, "Hand-wringing Democrat
wrote:

In particular, the insane decision to turn the once-routine
procedure of raising the debt ceiling (Lofgren notes it was done
87 times since WWII) into a political crisis revealed that the
GOP party mainstream had sunk to the level of terrorism –
holding our economic system hostage in exchange for political
concessions.

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This fails to consider the context.

The prior debt limit increases were not to 100%+ GDP in
peace time, and as soon as WW2 was over the debt was paid
down. The government has placed itself and the
nation/citizens in extreme vulnerability as a return to
normal interest rates [c. 5.5% historical average on U.S.
bonds] will be a disaster. Unfortunately, a continuation
of zero interest rates would also be a disaster for savers
and people living on a fixed income. It also makes it
difficult to raise capital for expansion and new product
development. It's called putting yourself between a rock
and a hard place.

Both parties are accountable. Both parties spent like
drunken sailors on shore leave, albeit on different things.
The democrats refuse to cut spending while the republicans
refuse to raise taxes or close loopholes, with the result
that the US national fiscal/financial position just keeps
getting worse, even as the EU is about to tank. The credit
implosion that just occurred was the direct result of the
bipartisan repeal of Glass-Stegall, emasculation of the
CFTC, and neglect by the SEC. A plague on both parties.


I hear it over and over from one expert after another. They all say the
same thing. I heard a financial expert on CNBC on Friday saying it. The
largest part of our deficit was caused by the Bush tax cuts and the two
wars. Had we not let Bush make those decisions this country would not be
facing a debt problem. It would be nowhere near the 14 trillion that it
is now. The republicans forced the tax cuts and the wars on the country.
I can guarantee if we had had a Democratic administration in the White
House in 2001 instead of Bush we would not be in this financial mess. So
while some of the debt we have racked up can be attributed to decisions
made by the Democrats most of it came courtesy of the republican party.
It was not the work of both parties equally.

Hawke