There is no means of avoiding a final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as a result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.
– Ludwig von Mises
The tea party movement is aptly named, and those elected in its name should remember the will and motivation of the extremists who stormed British ships in 1773.
The “debt-ceiling” debate is such a revolutionary moment, and compromise with fools, charlatans and self-absorbed milquetoasts is out of order. Raising the debt ceiling while pretending we will voluntarily cut spending at some future date is insane. It’s doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It guarantees catastrophe.
I, for one, would rather see the real deer-in-the-headlights expressions of John Boehner and Harry Reid than put up with one more shell game. Let August 2nd come and go with no more spending. On August 3rd we can all celebrate the president’s 50th birthday and offer prayers that wisdom will come with it. On August 4th, after counting the proceeds of his birthday fundraisers, the president can tell us what he thinks we should do.
If nothing is done before August 2nd, the US need not, and will not, officially default. The debt interest will be paid. Social Security and Medicare can be paid. Our troops can be paid. Comments to the contrary are fear mongering. The rest of our obligations matter less than the principle of correcting our fiscal course. Trouble now, or catastrophe later?
I agree with Michele Bachmann and those tea party stalwarts who insist on doing something real. Theirs’ is the compassionate position:
I refuse to be a party to deceiving the American people yet again.
– Michele Bachmann
A vote for “voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion” is a vote for the poor, the middle class and the rich. In that order.
Absent immediate cuts and a balanced budget Amendment, the one thing that should NOT be negotiable is the length of time any increase in the debt ceiling covers. We are told we can’t interrupt Christmas. We are told this debate is divisive and should not play a part in the 2012 presidential election. Really? What do the politicians think we pay them for except to practice politics? The most important political question the United States faces is the long term viability of our financial system. The president talks about it now using class warfare rhetoric. He otherwise refuses to reveal any specific aspect of his plans. And he doesn’t want to talk about it before he runs again for office? He is a charlatan who thinks you are a fool.
Update 6:23
Default Now, or Suffer a More Expensive Crisis Later: Ron Paul
I say Obama and Timothy ( the sky is falling ) Geithner are bluffing and we should call their bluff !!! We can always pay with useless GM stock, social security IOU's, or Freddy and Fannie stock, either way the United States will not have defaulted.