The Commentariat -- July 31
Tea Potty Floats Past Rudderless Ship of State. Maureen Dowd bemoans the lack of leadership in Congress or from this guy: "The laconic president emerges from the sidelines periodically to warn about economic default, but we’re already in political default." ...
... I've posted a comments page on Maureen Dowd's column on Off Times Square. Update: Karen Garcia & I have posted our comments. Garcia's made the cut. The moderators held back mine, so you'll have to read it here. ...
... NEW. Read It and Weep. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "On Sunday morning, [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell [R-Ky.] sketched the outlines of a $3 trillion, debt framework that would pair an immediate increase in the federal borrowing limit with immediate spending cuts. The proposal would also include caps on spending over the next decade and would mandate that a bipartisan committee of lawmakers recommend further cuts and potential changes to entitlement programs by the fall, with a 'trigger' mechanism to ensure that action is taken to reduce the debt if the committee reaches a stalemate. The process would involve a 'resolution of disapproval' by Congress that would allow the debt ceiling to be further raised next year if one-third of either chamber agrees – an idea first proposed by McConnell in a 'Plan B' he unveiled several weeks ago. The move would shift the political burden of raising the debt ceiling to the White House from congressional Republicans. Also included in the nascent proposal would be a provision calling for a vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution...." ...
... Even worse, you can watch & listen to Mitch explain the deal to Gloria Borger of CNN:
... In which the only panelist worth hearing is Krugman. I put these videos up on Off Times Square in response to a comment, but just to hear Krugman -- and the delusion he's up against -- is enlightening for us all:
... Very Serious Suckers. Paul Krugman: "Anyone reading the newspapers with an open mind had a pretty good idea of what would happen in the debt fight; only Washington insiders managed to fool themselves." ...
... Eric Dash & Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "In the last few days, top [Wall Street] executives have been in close contact with Washington in a last-ditch attempt to prod lawmakers toward a compromise by Tuesday...." ...
... Green Eggs & Ham. Frank Bruni has breakfast with Grover Norquist.
New York Times Editors: "The economy is in trouble, and Washington — fixated on budget slashing at a time when the economy needs more spending — seems determined to make matters worse." The editors have some admittedly piecemeal suggestions to help keep the economy from returning to full recession mode. ...
... CW: As I've Been Saying, Ad Nauseum. Catherine Rampell of the New York Times: "... there is, in theory, a happy solution to our debt troubles. It’s called economic growth. No need to raise taxes or cut programs. Just get the economy growing the way it used to.... Back in , Washington tightened its belt with disastrous results. Congress severely reduced spending in 1937, plunging the economy back into the hole. Ultimately, that meant even more federal borrowing.... After World War II, gross federal debt reached 122 percent of G.D.P., the highest ratio on record. But over the next 40 years, it fell to about 33 percent. That wasn’t because some blue-ribbon panel prescribed austerity; it was because the American economy became much, much richer.... Countries that undertake fiscal consolidation in the midst of a crisis — like the one Washington is in right now — tend to be penny-wise and pound-foolish." ...
... The Ratings Agencies Really Don't Care about You. Peter Schroeder of The Hill: "The 'limited magnitude' of both debt plans put forward by congressional leaders would not put the nation's AAA credit rating back on solid footing, Moody's Investors Service announced Friday.... It added that 'prolonged debt ceiling deliberations' have increased the odds of a downgrade.... As far as it is concerned, the nation will only default if it misses an interest or principal payment on U.S. debt, not if it misses payments on other obligations like federal employee salaries or Social Security benefits." [emphasis added]
The president’s proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare has the potential to sap the energy of the Democratic base — among older voters because of Medicare and Medicaid and younger voters because of the lack of jobs. And second, all these fiscal austerity proposals on the table will make the economy worse. -- Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO policy director ...
... Jackie Calmes of the New York Times notices Our Conservative Republican President has turned off liberal voters. No kidding. ...
... NEW. Glenn Greenwald: "... a slew of millionaire politicians who spent the last decade exploding the national debt with Endless War, a sprawling Surveillance State, and tax cuts for the rich are now imposing extreme suffering on the already-suffering ordinary citizenry, all at the direction of their plutocratic overlords, who are prospering more than ever and will sacrifice virtually nothing under this deal (despite their responsibility for the 2008 financial collapse that continues to spawn economic misery). And all of this will be justified by these politicians and their millionaire media mouthpieces with the obscenely deceitful slogans of 'shared sacrifice' and 'balanced debt reduction' -- two of the most odiously Orwellian phrases since 'Look Forward, not Backward' and '2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.'..." ...
... Pollster Stan Greenberg in a New York Times op-ed: "... many voters prefer the policies of Democrats to the policies of Republicans. They just don’t trust the Democrats to carry out those promises.... They think that the game is rigged and that the wealthy and big industries get policies that reinforce their advantage. And they do not think their voices matter." Greenberg proposes a series of prescriptions that Democrats should follow to turn around public prescriptions.
News Ledes
** New York Times: "President Obama and Congressional leaders of both parties said late Sunday that they had agreed to a framework for a budget deal that would cut trillions of dollars in federal spending over the next decade and clear the way for an increase in the government’s borrowing limit."
Politico: "Late in the afternoon, a statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said: 'Senator Reid has signed off on the debt-ceiling agreement pending caucus approval.'"
New York Times: ", Europe’s biggest bank, plans to announce thousands of job cuts on Monday as part of a wide-ranging cost-reduction program that started in May, a person with direct knowledge of the decision said Sunday. HSBC plans to cut about 10,000 jobs, or 3 percent of its global work force...."
At 1:20 pm ET, it appears the Senate is voting on cloture on the Reid bill. So the vote failed & they're going to reconsider it at 4:00 pm ET. Reid says he's still working with the House & the Administration. Jay Newton-Small of Time has an update on negotiations, but the rank-and-file of both parties are wary of the deal, she says.
If there's a word that would be right here that would sum up the mood, it would be relief ... default is far less of a possibility now than it was a day ago. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
ABC News: "Democratic and Republican Congressional sources involved in the negotiations tell ABC News that a tentative agreement has been reached on the framework of a deal that would give the President a debt ceiling increase of up to $2.4 trillion and guarantee an equal amount of deficit reduction over the next 10 years. The details are still being worked out, and a senior White House aide tells ABC News, 'talks continue but there is no deal to report.'" Bloomberg News: ditto. ...
... Here's the latest from the Washington Post. AND the latest from the New York Times is here.
... Washington Post: "Shortly after 10 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced that talks between McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Biden had made significant progress, prompting Reid to delay a vote that had been scheduled for 1 a.m. Sunday on his own debt-limit measure."
Los Angeles Times: "Syrian security forces loyal to the embattled regime of President Bashar Assad launched a major military assault on opposition strongholds Sunday, using tanks and gunfire in authorities' latest attempt to crush a pro-democracy movement that appears to be gathering momentum ahead of the emotionally and religiously charged holy month of Ramadan." Al Jazeera story here; with video.
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