Republicans were fine with the last presidential signature $4.7 trillion Even before covid-19 hit, new deficits were enacted (and trillions of dollars more since then). But now that the Democrats are president, the reborn deficit hawks of the Republican Party have decided that something must be done about the nation’s fiscal health.
But it’s not clear what’s beyond taking precious hostages: the national debt ceiling.
This is a statutory limit on how much the government can borrow to pay the bills. Before Congress has already agreed. Without raising the debt ceiling, the federal government would be forced to abandon some of these commitments, potentially missing payments on obligations such as interest payments, Social Security benefits, and military salaries. Other potential consequences include a global financial crisis in the short term, even for accidental defaults. And in the long run, the US will no longer appear to be the safe and reliable borrower it used to be, resulting in higher borrowing costs.
Rising borrowing costs greater than Future deficits, of course. If Republicans have recently found religion in financial responsibility, they still seem to be sorting out precise theological doctrines.
The rest of the Republican plan to cut the deficit is still pending. Republicans say they want to reduce debt.Unfortunately they ruled out virtually all mathematical means to achieve that result.
In short, they don’t raise taxes (on the contrary, they promise to cut more). They don’t touch Social Security or Medicare. They don’t cut defense or veterans programs. According to the independents, Trump will not zero out the rest of the discretionary budget, as would be necessary if he chose to extend all of Trump’s tax cuts and take all other spending categories off the table. Congressional Budget Office.
Don’t worry. At the very least, the Republican Party is committed to cutting “awakeningism” from the budget. (This is apparently cash flow of FBI.)
Biden has promised to at least document a fiscal plan.I am dissatisfied with some elements of him budget, including some of his mathematics. For example, the president’s budget forecast is Cost to extend most of Trump tax cuts, Biden now officially supports. But at least his ideas are there for the rest of us to appreciate and Republicans to refute.
Republicans, on the other hand, seem to have abandoned Any pretend counter offer.they have no budgetor even one basic outline.
and letter In late March, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) accused the president of “not taking action” on debt negotiations. Apparently, McCarthy’s own lack of specifics and banal remarks about “reducing excessive non-defence government spending” (which is excessive?) and “growing the economy and keeping Americans safe” Policy to maintain. Energy costs.” (Well, how?)
on the same day, CNBC, McCarthy defended the caucuses’ underfunding by saying, “The budget has nothing to do with the debt ceiling.” Rep. Kevin Hahn (Republican, Oklahoma), chairman of the Republican Research Committee, used almost the same words: hill: “I don’t think budgets and spending limits are relevant.”
Raising the debt ceiling past Obligations; on budget proposals future Determination of spending and taxes. These things should not be linked. Congress should pass a clean debt ceiling hike or suspension without preconditions, as Republicans repeatedly agreed to when Donald Trump was president. But since then, Republicans have tried to bundle two unrelated things together, treating one as a useful hostage to force change on the other (again, undecided).
Last week, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) leaked the real reason the GOP has neither a detailed financial plan nor a concrete set of principles. Convincing the 218 members of Congress (that is, the House majority) to commit to a budget “is not as easy as it was when I was a freshman,” he said.
In other words, the Republican caucus is a dissonant mess. Republicans don’t know what they want. They just know they don’t want what the Democrats are offering. This evokes many dynamics. Other major policy debates in recent years.
Yet Republicans continue to demand that Biden sit down, negotiate, and make concessions. Every time they do, the rest of us have to respond. what?
