Posted on 07/12/2011 10:45:43 AM PDT by tcrlaf
President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.
"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it," Mr. Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, according to excerpts released by CBS News.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Found that on the gov site:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r109:570:./temp/~r109Dx00yt:e8114:
h
Congressional Record
109th Congress (2005-2006)
“INCREASING THE STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT — (Senate - March 16, 2006)”
He says this about 1/3rd of the way down.
Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about America’s debt problem.
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies.
Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is ``trillion’’ with a ``T.’’ That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion.
Numbers that large are sometimes hard to understand. Some people may wonder why they matter. Here is why: This year, the Federal Government will spend $220 billion on interest. That is more money to pay interest on our national debt than we’ll spend on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. That is more money to pay interest on our debt this year than we will spend on education, homeland security, transportation, and veterans benefits combined. It is more money in one year than we are likely to spend to rebuild the devastated gulf coast in a way that honors the best of America.
And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.
Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans—a debt tax that Washington doesn’t want to talk about. If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies.
But we are not doing that. Despite repeated efforts by Senators CONRAD and FEINGOLD, the Senate continues to reject a return to the commonsense Pay-go rules that used to apply. Previously, Pay-go rules applied both to increases in mandatory spending and to tax cuts. The Senate had to abide by the commonsense budgeting principle of balancing expenses and revenues. Unfortunately, the principle was abandoned, and now the demands of budget discipline apply only to spending.
As a result, tax breaks have not been paid for by reductions in Federal spending, and thus the only way to pay for them has been to increase our deficit to historically high levels and borrow more and more money. Now we have to pay for those tax breaks plus the cost of borrowing for them. Instead of reducing the deficit, as some people claimed, the fiscal policies of this administration and its allies in Congress will add more than $600 million in debt for each of the next 5 years. That is why I will once again cosponsor the Pay-go amendment and continue to hope that my colleagues will return to a smart rule that has worked in the past and can work again.
Our debt also matters internationally. My friend, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, likes to remind us that it took 42 Presidents 224 years to run up only $1 trillion of foreign-held debt. This administration did more than that in just 5 years. Now, there is nothing wrong with borrowing from foreign countries. But we must remember that the more we depend on foreign nations to lend us money, the more our economic security is tied to the whims of foreign leaders whose interests might not be aligned with ours.
Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ``the buck stops here.’’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.
Sorry, it was the same as always. “Thank you for your comments”
Now they will go back to repeating the same old arguments they been using for months, angry seniors will call them up and yell at them, Boehner will cut a ‘historic’ deal with Pelosi... OK, I dont know where this is going but not optimistic. Republicans have a incredible lack of imagination. Plus supporting theDemocrats big ‘trust fund lie’ allows them to delay any reform changes for 10 years. OOOPS to bad, the trust fund just ran out (in 2025), bad luck for you!.
Fed Pay raises are frozen for two years and looking at 5 so don’t be lumping all Feds in with ACORN. The only ones getting pay raises are his own staff and appointees.
Well - that for sure indicates why the Debt Limit should not be raised.
If America is living month-to-month like many others, it is about time the issue is addressed.
I wonder if the U.S. qualifies for Country Debt Counseling?
We went through Consumer Credit Counseling. It took 4 years to pay off 45K in CCs and Med bills. We could have “defaulted”, but we chose not to.
“Let’s go Congress” suck it up and solve the issue. No longer can you kick the can down the road because the can is now bigger than You are!
Bears repeating.
Bush also tried several times to stop Fannie and Freddie from totally screwing the economy through the housing market.
Then-Senator Obama gave speech after speech about how Bush should "listen to the people" and not reform Social Security.
On the bright side, Obama DID NOT say that Welfare and Food Stamps wouldn’t go out.
REJOICE COMRADES! WELFARE CHECK WEEKEND Parties are still on as scheduled!
I bet the Welfare checks will though.
Wow, each day the President is more of a butthole than he was the day before. It defies credibility that he would even put out such a threat.
ENOUGH with him. ENOUGH.
CUFF HIM. THEN THROW HIS KENYAN BUTT IN THE SLAMMER AND THROW AWAY THE KEYS!!!!!!!
Welfare and food stamps are distributed via the states, so even if there is a real govt shutdown, those will lag.
SS comes directly from the fedgov.
Yep it is 'Economic Terrorism'....but Bo says so what, if it works. Blackmail would be another fair term... It's mafia style thug-duggary.....he's tentatively saying he'll throw the Seniors under the bus too....... And they will pull the alarm button.
A family close to me receives the EBT food benefit and uses only about 30% of the funds each month. 70% left over. Unlike many families, they are frugal and restrained in their purchases. A 50% cut in the benefit wouldn't even be noticed by them. However, there are some ill-advised corporate-favoring tax breaks and subsidies I'd like to see eliminated just as quick.
Why do we imagine Obama (or his advisers) think things through before making outrageous remarks like this?
“While SS/Medicare will have to be addressed, BEFORE they touch one penny at least completely stop foreign aid to EVERY other country. Shut down the departments of Energy and Education. Remove our troops from Germany, Japan, S. Korea.
“De-fund NPR, PBS and every feel good but nonessential program.
“Once every other nonessential program has been shut down then and only then lets look at what has to be done for SS/Medicare. If we allow them to go after SS/Medicare FIRST without doing these other things then the Federal Governments war on its citizens will be won without firing a shot. “
I liked your post so much I just had to re-quote it.
It’s time for the pitchforks. WE OWN THIS GOVERNMENT AND WE ARE LETTING IT KILL US.
Cajun splains it.
Even so, if Obama had threatened to stop WELFARE checks, imagine the industries that would be harmed!
Casinos, strip clubs, cell phone companies, Liquor sales, Tobacco companies, whorehouses, and KFC.
Mexican drug lords would take the hardest hit.
BO is playing the SS card very early in this battle - it means he is losing the PR war. Take heart and share the truth with every senior you know.
Sue Soros for the money. He’s a citizen of the US.
Or, ask the wealthiest Democrats.....
“An analysis of the Top 20 Richest People in America (from Forbes Top 100) reveals that a full 60% are actually Democrats. Furthermore, if you eliminate the duplication caused by people from the same family being included in that Top 20 list (Wal-Mart & Koch) that ratio widens even further to:
25% Republican / 75% Democrat.”
http://newamericangazette.com/2011/01/politics/top-20-richest-people-dem...
Oprah
Algore
Ted Turner
The Google guys
Gates
Ellison
Ballmer
...
Not to mention the actual wealth of people like John Kerry. He could help out with the sale of one of their houses. Or Tereza could donate 1 full % of Heinz profits to the country, since she gets 5%.
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