Armageddon On Or After Aug. 2 Not Very Likely

IBD Editorials ^ | July 22, 2011 | JAGADEESH GOKHALE

[Kaslin]

The Treasury's Aug. 2 deadline for reaching the federal borrowing limit is rapidly approaching,

but prospects of a budget deal remain unclear.

House Republicans seem resolved to shun compromise until that deadline, perhaps until well beyond it. But dire warnings about financial Armageddon if the deadline is breached seem vastly exaggerated.

As House Republicans proceeded to pass their Cut, Cap, and Balance legislation, President Obama has shifted his position with increasing frequency. He initially painted himself into a corner by ruling out a short-term budget deal. Later he embraced the McConnell plan, only to soon switch in favor of the Gang of Six approach.

He now appears to be backed into a corner, suggesting a temporary stop-gap measure would be acceptable "if it is tied to an agreement by both parties on a broader deficit-reduction deal" — whatever that means.

House Republicans appear steadfast in rejecting all deals between Senate leaders and Obama that include tax increases and do not include a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Construction. They ask why such an amendment to ensure that we never return to a similar fiscal precipice is so unreasonable when Americans must do the same — a question that resonates with their constituents.

And they strongly believe that pushing the deadlock through Aug. 2 will only increase their leverage with the president and other leaders.

But House Republicans also risk being characterized as unreasonable and intransigent — if prognostications by administration officials of a financial Armageddon after Aug. 2 without a higher debt ceiling prove true. Do such dire warnings have much merit?

[flowerplough]

Stock market’s up today - Wall Streeeties seeming real concerned...

[mulligan]

But if we keep on doing what we have always done, the program that would keep us out of trouble, but never did, this time it will be different and all will be rosey. How stupid is that? Do the same that has never worked. Pure, 100% stupidity.

[YHAOS]

There are at least twenty pesonality traits exhibited by a junkie:
1) Game playing.
2) Low frustration tolerance.
3) Anxiety; nameless fears and dreads.
4) Grandiosity. The Caligula syndrome.
5) Wishful Thinking.
6) Isolation. Deep insecurity and the lack of the real generosity that is required to make close, enduring friendships.
7) Sensitivity to, and resentment of, painful truths.
8) Impulsiveness.
9) Manipulative behavior.
10) Rationalization and intellectualizing.
11) Projection.
12) Combativeness or bravado.
13) Evasiveness and subject changing.
14) Ridicule.
15) Emotionalism or phony tears
16) Denial, or minimizing.
17) Playing dumb – finger-pointing and not taking responsibility.
18) Arrogance and smug superiority.
19) Anger, threats, and other forms of intimidation.
20) And, at the end, desperate bargaining.

Government is strung-out on the worst sort of deficit spending addiction. At his press conference today, Pres**ent 0bama came close to exhibiting every one of the twenty traits, just barely escaping 20) desperate bagaining.

I hope he is leading as miserable an existence as it appears he is.

[Pearls Before Swine]

We need some desperate bargaining on O's part. The reason he's skating towards the precipice is that it's accepted history that the budge shutdown in the 90's helped Clinton and turned the public against the GOP. Gingrich overplayed his hand. They are hoping for the same result now, and there's a possibility that the MSM's help combined with general public ignorance of economics might give them that. But, I also think that the public is far more awake, and aware of the impeding desperateness of our fiscal situation.

We need Boner, Cantor, Palin, and even Fox giving clear eyed analysis of the Dem bait and switch Lucy/Charley Brown tax now and cut maybe later tactics. Maybe this time will be different.

[YHAOS]

"Maybe this time will be different."

It had better be different this time . . . or you can kiss America goodby.

[MplsSteve]

Your post is an excellent summation.

The problem is (and most of our GOP leaders can’t grasp this) is that the MSM is never gonna report this story properly. They’ll slant their reporting in a pro-Obama and pro-Dem manner.

For our leaders to hope or think that the MSM is gonna give them a fair shake in this debate is just plain fu**ing ridiculous. Showing up on “Meet The Press” isn’t gonna do it.

If we want the voters on our side, we’re gonna have to spend some money. TV ads, newspaper ads, direct mailings, etc. That’s the only way to win this battle.

For reasons I can’t even think of, our GOP leaders seem to think that they’re gonna get a fair shake from the NY Times or CBS.

[upcountryhorseman]

We have already exceeded the “debt limit”: look out for
monday’s market!