Next month, our government will reach the statutory ceiling on our national debt. New spending aside, the treasury will have to borrow to pay the interest on existing T-Bills, and if they can’t, the US will be in default for the first time in history. The effects on our economy would be horrid at best, so it should come as no surprise that Republicans are using this as a opportunity to renew their terrorist tactics and take our credit standing hostage to transfer more wealth from the poor and middle classes to the rich. I am absolutely certain that Republicans will cave-in if their disingenuous scheme fails.
Republicans have, for months, been laying out various demands that they want in exchange for voting to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, even though failure to do so would have widespread and disastrous consequences. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner estimates that the country will reach its legal borrowing limit around May 16.
Calling it a “leverage moment,” some of the demands Republicans have cited are a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and various versions of spending caps or cuts. Today on ABC’s This Week, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) added one more demand to the list — cutting the corporate tax rate in half…
…Watch it:
At the moment, corporations are making record profits and sitting on nearly $2 trillion in cash reserves. At the same time, corporate tax revenues are at historical lows and many corporations — including GE and Boeing — pay no federal corporate income tax at all. According to the Office of Management and Budget, “corporate tax receipts will account for just 7.2% of federal revenues in 2010, with large corporations contributing less than one-sixth as much as small business and individual taxpayers to the Federal Treasury.” In comparison, fifty years ago corporate tax receipts were 23 percent of federal revenue.
But West would take the credit-worthiness of the entire country hostage to drive already low corporate tax revenue even lower, making the U.S. deficit worse, not better…
Inserted from <Think Progress>
Note that this is the very same Allen West who refused to disassociate himself with his campaign manager’s statement that, unless he was elected, his followers should respond with armed violence.
Republicans are using a crazy man to carry their water, all in the hope that we take their threat seriously, but if Obama and the Democrats stand firm and do not cave in, the Republicans will not follow through on their threat, period! How do I know?
The TBTF banks, aka the Banksters, are required by law to hold huge liquid reserves. They keep the money in T-Bills. If the US defaults, the value of T-Bills will drop. Therefore, the first entities (Corporations are NOT people!) to be devastated by a failure to increase the debt ceiling are the Banksters. Now, who thinks that RepubliCorp with throw the Banksters that bought them under the bus?
8 Responses to “It’s Hostage Taking Time Again”
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One couldn’t find a dart board large enough to hold mug shots of all the crazies in the GOP. Obviously West is too stupid to understand that he is a mere tool and that as soon as his usefulness is no longer apparent, his black ass will be kicked out the door.
Leslie, I’m leaving this up because I know that you are not a racist and that your comment was intended to mock Republican racism. I would urge care, as someone who does not know you would misinterpret this.
The Republicans may end up having to blink on this one. Boehner has been coming under pressure from Wall Street executives to cut the crazy talk about letting the country hit the debt ceiling — and Wall Street executives are the kind of constituency Republicans tend to actually listen to. I just hope the Democrats get this — because the teabaggers certainly won’t, and they’ll judge the Republican establishment harshly if it folds. It’s a golden opportunity to create division within the right.
Infidel, I fully agree. My fear is that they will abandon the opportunity by surrender in advance.
Has anyone seen or heard of ANY interview with Allen West where the MSM actually asks him about the fact that he resigned from the Army after pleading guilty to assaulting an Iraqi detainee during “enhanced” interrogation, was fined $5,000 and was facing a court-martial hearing?
If he keeps bragging about having “served 22 years in the United States military” – then this is MORE than fair game. The man is a dangerous wacko!
Source:
http://mediamatters.org/research/201002080008
Nameless, I remember such an interview during the campaign, but it was by a progressive blog, not MSM. I think Keith or Rachel put it on.
America has NO crisis! When the going gets tough, the tough get going….TAX the wealthy, close the military bases all over the world & bring our soldiers HOME to bolster OUR economy (not Germany, Japan, or Korea & Middle East) and let them rebuild our infrastructure: roads, bridges, schools! But, ALAS! that would make too much sense. In any event, Grandma, the sick & the poor are NOT going to fix this financial mess for the USA….the rich melted it down, they MUST build it up! Clinton left office with a surplus!
Zada, I fully agree. The time has come for America to start exporting something other than war. You already know how I feel about taxing the super-rich and criminal corporations.