Team Obama's Debt Limit Scare Tactics Are Getting Old -- Fast

Fox News ^ | May 19, 2011 | John R. Lott Jr.

[JohnRLott]

Wasn't the world supposed to end on Monday? No, I'm not talking about May 21. But on Monday, the U.S. government officially hit its debt limit, but where are disasters that the Obama administration have been predicting for months? We were warned that hitting the debt limit would be "deeply irresponsible" or “insanity” or “abrupt contraction would likely push us into a double dip recession.” But Americans woke up today to find nothing really changed from last week.

The Obama administration’s scare tactics are getting old. Unfortunately, they keep on getting away with this and aren’t held accountable when their scare stories prove false.

Take the warning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made on January 6th. He wrote Congress a letter asserting: "the debt limit will be reached as early as March 31, 2011, and most likely sometime between that date and May 16, 2011. . . . it is strongly in our national interest for Congress to act well before the debt limit is reached” (italics added). Failure to act before this deadline would lead to "default on legal obligations," "catastrophic damage to the economy, potentially much more harmful than the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009." Spending will be "discontinued [or] limited" on everything from Social Security and Medicare, U.S. military salaries, Medicaid payments to states, to "forced default on legal [interest] obligations."

The debt limit increase was so critical that President Obama has long opposed any attempts by Republicans to use the debt limit increase to cut the debt, claiming that it had to be a “clean” bill. White House Budget Director Jack Lew told lawmakers in March that it had to be “clean -- it’s irresponsible to do anything but extending the debt limit.” . . .

[rawhide]

I understand the Federal Treasury is borrowing money now from the 'Federal Retirees Pension Fund' to keep financing the government, and will not run out of money totally until sometimes in August.

[lowbridge]

bump

[VRW Conspirator]

I understand the Federal Treasury is borrowing money now from the 'Federal Retirees Pension Fund' to keep financing the government, and will not run out of money totally until sometimes in August.

If the repubs want to play hardball, the should refuse to raise the debt limit until after the pension fund money runs dry.

[stubernx98]

Professor Blinder’s artical today in the WSJ said we are doomed if debt ceiling is not raised>

firts rule - don’t beieve anything a Professor says.
Second rule - don’t believe anything a scientists says.
Third rule - don’t believe anything a ppoliticain says(especially Newt and Obama).
Fourth rule - don’t believe anything from a Journa(o)list.

[EQAndyBuzz]

If the repubs want to play hardball, the should refuse to raise the debt limit until after the pension fund money runs dry.

They could then use the social security surplus the Rats claim exists.

[Doug Loss]

Frankly, they should refuse to raise the debt ceiling at all. If you automatically raise the debt ceiling whenever the government approaches it, effectively you have no debt ceiling. Call their bluff--no more public debt, period. Raise taxes precipitously, or cut spending precipitously, but you're through increasing the public debt. Might we default? Yup. Would you rather do it now, or when the debt is double or treble what it currently is?