Posted on 05/17/2011 3:24:44 PM PDT by Starman417
With a failing and ailing housing market that Zillow predicts won't hit bottom until 2012 *at the earliest*…, a US dollar with rapidly declining value driving prices of oil up, as well as every product down line in the transportation chain, this administration's leadership thru the US economic woes have proven not to steer the nation towards recovery, but instead thrown us into a double dip recession.
With a new POTUS election year looming, this comes as quite the inconvenient talking point. So it comes as no surprise that Geithner decides to play politics with the crises… laying the groundwork for blaming policies that brought us to this point on on the GOPs demands for spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
A short-term default on government debts would do "irrevocable damage" to the American economy, according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.In addition, failing to raise the debt limit and forcing the government to miss payments on some obligations would "likely push us into a double dip recession," he warned Friday in one of the administration's bluntest warnings yet on the dangers of inaction.
In a letter sent to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Geithner painted a bleak picture of what would happen if Congress were to fail to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit in time. A government default would hurt an already weak housing market, drive down household wealth by hitting 401(k) accounts and pension funds, and actually increase the government's debt burden by driving up costs.
A "bleak picture" without the debt ceiling being raised?? Are we supposed to assume that picture is less "bleak" when it is increased? With several citations of "confidence" in the US economy, Geithner tends to overlook that confidence in the US is falling primarily because this nation's elected ones refuse to address our spending. And what is raising the debt level but allowing ourselves the ability to continue to spend?
I'm not sure if Geithner's bothered to look closely, but with, or without, that debt ceiling, a double dip recession has already been upon us. That is if you want to focus on the economic health of anyone other than the financials, who've been the biggest beneficiaries of Fed's low interest/big bucks capital gains scenario. Main Street is feeling anything but recovery as our home values continue to tumble, unemployment remains high, and costs of necessities rise unabated. And I'm sure many of will consider candle making when the inexpensive incandescent bulb is mandated out of existence, thanks to a nanny "green" Congress, rather than pay the price of new age lighting.
Political rhetoric, in the form of the game of "chicken", is at the foundation of this cheap fear mongering. As even Mike Shedlock at Mish's Global Economic points out, there's no doubt the debt ceiling will be raised. It's just under what circumstances that it will. The GOP is using the debate as leverage for spending/cutting concessions from across the aisle, and from this big spending WH denizen.
In what is one of Mish's more uncharacteristically harsh observations, Shedlock calls the Geithner/Bennett letter staged.
Last week Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asking what would happen if the debt ceiling was not raised.Geithner's Fear-Mongering Response to Senator Michael Bennett was quite entertaining. Here are a few select quotes from Geithner
A default would call into question, for the first time, the full faith and credit of the U. S. government. As a result, investors in the United States and around the world would demand much higher rates, reflecting the increased risk we might default on our obligations again.A Default would not only increase borrowing costs for the Federal Government. but also for families, businesses, and local governments.
Even a short-term default could cause irrevocable damage to the American economy.
The letter goes on and on with colorful warnings about double-dip recessions.
The entire setup looks like a staged event. Michael Bennett is a Democrat from Colorado who wants the debt ceiling raised. Purposely or not, Bennett lobbed a softball to Geithner who drooled all over it.
To link the non existent housing recovery - as well as a stagnant (at best) economy in the wake of the massive government injection of taxpayer stimulus cash - to the current event of the debt ceiling is an obvious political feint, designed to mask the fiscal policy failures of the current administration and Fed Reserve. To buy into this nonsense, we would have to assume that an automatic raise of the debt ceiling, unopposed, would result in the rosy future this admin attempts to paint at every opportunity.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
Why the excerpt?
How much money are you making per hit scammed away from Free Republic?
What has driven you to this criminal activity?
50% of media-deceived Americans will believe this total bullsh*t.
Including 100% of democrat party brain dead zombie voters.
Well when you have crybaby as our Majority Leader, I don’t blame the Rats for taking that approach.
What a !@#$%^&*! moron.
Everybody knows the democrats have been in charge since 2006.
Democrats still hold the presidency and the Senate.
Geithner shows just how much of a !@#$%^&*! idiot he really is.
Gee blame Bush again? Why not. It worked the last time...lol.
I’m wondering if this is why some of the Political Elites are slowly backing away from 2012 election season.
If they can hang a major currency collapse on a woman (Palin or Bachman) or a white guy (Paul) or an (out of line-in their opinion) Black man such as Cain or Col. Allen West, then they’d have their excuse for a global currency restructuring and the pain might just be severe enough for the powers that be to perpetually blame the fall of the US currency on a global scale on the Tea Party/Conservatives etc.
I think the best thing that we can do is stuff the Congress with Conservatives and let the Socialist Lefties have their illegitimate president presiding over a massive collapse so they can take credit where credit is due.
IMHO...
LLS
If a republican is so much in control of a local dog pound the dems will blame him/her.
They are already trying to blame the house republicans for everything.
I know he did this when he claimed the economy would enter another recession if we did not fork over more debt.
Only problem is, we never got out of the recession to begin with.
Giethner/Dems are accustomed to being pampered by a pubic not paying attention and their blame shifting going unnoticed. However, the public is paying attention now.
This won’t stand. Unless we get another tounge tied conservative or Rino running against Obama.
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