Posted on 07/14/2011 3:17:23 PM PDT by Scanian
Barack Obama is today preparing to re-enter talks with Republicans as the two sides battle to reach an agreement in the ongoing debt ceiling crisis. Fuming lawmakers pointed fingers at one another and Obama on Thursday as negotiations over raising the national debt limit entered a perilous endgame. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned of economic damage, and an anxious Wall Street envisioned catastrophe if the U.S. defaulted on its obligations.
In the build up to today's meeting, Moody's ratings agency yesterday said that the U.S. could lose its top credit rating in coming weeks if a stand-off between the White House and congressional Republicans over raising the statutory borrowing limit is not resolved.
The announcement comes on the back of a warning from Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell who told President Obama his party would not 'help him' solve the debt limit crisis. McConnell said: 'Don't expect any more cover from Republicans on it than you got on health care. None.' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stood on the Senate floor Thursday and sniped that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor shouldn't even be part of the talks anymore, noting that the Virginia Republican has been called 'childish.' Not long after, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stood to serve notice that the debt problem belonged squarely in Obama's lap. 'Republicans will not be reduced to being the tax collectors for the Obama economy,' McConnell said. 'Don't expect any more cover from Republicans on it than you got on health care. None.'
A 'tough' and 'testy' meeting yesterday got ugly quickly, according to sources who said Mr Cantor clashed with the President after repeatedly pushing for a short-term resolution to the crisis. According to Mr Cantor the President said: 'Eric, don't call my bluff,' before adding: 'Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here?
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I don’t know but S&P stated on Wednesday that they would deem the US in default if they held back the Social Security checks.
After all, that money was stolen, er, “borrowed” from the Trust Funds and replaced by congressional IOU’s.
So it is in fact “debt service” to send out SS payments.
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