Geithner issues apocalyptic warning

Politico44 ^ | 01/06/11 | GLENN THRUSH

[ColdOne]

Tim Geithner has message for the 112th Congress: The sky really is falling.

President Obama’s blunt Treasury secretary has dispatched a doomsday missive to congressional leaders, detailing the very bad things that will happen to the country – a default and global economic cataclysm – if the GOP fails to increase the debt limit to $14.29 trillion this spring.

Geithner, responding to a request by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), outlined a handful of painful short-term stopgaps to increase the “headroom” needed to fund day-to-day operations and fulfill the country’s fiscal obligations

[G Larry]

Hey Tim, we know you support Obama’s socialist agenda and believe the world will end if the government doesn’t control and run EVERYTHING.
The American people, on the other hand, DO NOT believe that, and just voted to REMOVE government control and QUIT trying to run everything.
SO, just sit in the corner and read your TurboTax instructions, and leave the rest of us alone, while you enjoy your anxiety attack.

[glorgau]

Pretty simple, just up the debt limit $500 billion at a time.

That will make spending cuts more likely to pass with less political grandstanding.

[grumpygresh]

If the Beavis/Butthead clone is unhappy, I’m happy. If he thinks something is bad, well then it must be good. Every damn thing these socialists do is bad so why should we listen to any of their warnings of doom? They are more incorrect than a broken clock.

[The Comedian]

Didn't we hear this same crap 2 years ago as the impetus for TARP?

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[DPMD]

I’d like for this tax-cheating individual to send me his credit card and immediately increase its debt limit.

He can trust me.

[Cicero]

Well, I hate to say it, but the sky is falling. And he’s one of the guys who pulled the props out from under it.

[blasater1960]

Politico makes me sick. No mention of the apocalypse that will come from the USA going bankrupt, from the dollar becoming worthless when our debt soars beyond 100% of GDP. How many Trillions is enough Timmy?

[The Comedian]

Can someone tell me just what would really happen if the government gets shut down for several months?

The entire commie constituency would start eating itself.

Wealth and freedom would increase to levels only our great-grandparents have experienced.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[backwoods-engineer]

President Obama’s blunt Treasury secretary has dispatched a doomsday missive to congressional leaders, detailing the very bad things that will happen to the country – a default and global economic cataclysm – if the GOP fails to increase the debt limit to $14.29 trillion this spring.

DON'T FALL FOR IT, GOP! The debt ceiling is a line in the sand--this far and NO FARTHER!

[Glenn]

don’t deliver entitlement checks for two months

Clever idea. I'll start shorting snack food companies in case it comes to pass.

[bill1952]

Pretty simple, just up the debt limit $500 billion at a time cut spending $500 billion at a time.

That will make spending cuts more likely to pass with less political grandstanding

Fixed it for you

[CSM]

Cloward Piven much Timmy?

[RinaseaofDs]

Did he run this through Turbo-Tax before issuing this proclamation?

[MrB]

You have about 4 meals from the time the checks aren’t delivered until full scale rioting starts.

[jackv]

bump for later

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Even if Obama were held to his original deficit projections (from 2009); that would represent a huge cut in the deficit. It could be called something like the “Keeping Obama’s Promises Initiative”, and no Democrat could complain, without also acknowledging that the current deficits exceed Obama’s projection (promise).

Here's an article from 2009, which has a helpful graph showing Obama’s projected deficits:

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/

[ldish]

lets see...SS and Disab payments cost 800 billion a year...medicare and Medicaid another 800 billion a year...defense of the country another 800 billion...for a total if 2.4 trillion...total us govt budget for 2010 is 3.6 trillion...looks like we could easily cut a trillion without screwing all of those who have work their whole lives and paid all the SS and MED taxes...of course the first thing everyone wants to cut is the SS, Disab and MED

[<1/1,000,000th%]

So we don’t have to pay taxes any more either?

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

I won't argue with any of your points. If you were to look back at all my old posts (I wouldn't even wish that on an enemy); you'd see that I've been hectoring fellow Freepers about the need to eliminate deficits for years and years. It's your country; I'm just a friendly outsider, so the methods are entirely up to the collective “you”.

In my previous post, I was just trying to point out that even Obama promised significantly lower deficits. Zero deficits would be ideal. (Slogan: “Zero for Zero”) The worst-case, fall-back position should be deficits no higher than Obama promised.

[Spktyr]

Good. Let it hit the debt ceiling. First place to cut? White House budget. No more vacay in Hawaii for you, Obama.