debt ceiling talks

meta-agnostic

Jedi Master
I could not find another thread specifically devoted to this subject. Maybe it belongs on one of the SOTT news subforums.

I am curious about what people here think the endgame is with regard to the debt ceiling talks in the U.S.A. If you are not familiar with this subject, the U.S. has reached its artificial borrowing limit set by Congress and the current Republican-controlled House is saying they will not vote to increase the limit without massive spending cuts to move toward balancing the budget and ultimately paying down the debt (yeah, right). The Democrats have agreed to some spending cuts but say there should also be tax increases or "revenue" increases (i.e. closing tax loopholes) on the wealthy in order to balance the share of the burden. The "Tea Party" Republicans say they will not consider any tax increases under any circumstances. There has been progress toward a deal but things seem to keep falling apart. We already reached the limit on May 16 and are now borrowing from pensions to stave off default. They are saying that if a deal is not reached by August 2, the U.S. will begin to default on its obligations which will have unpredictable global catastrophic consequences. It isn't often asserted in the mainstream press, but alternative sources frequently state that the world dumping the dollar as a reserve currency is one possible consequence of default. This would seem to relate to this recent "Best of the Web" article posted on SOTT:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/231428-The-Dollar-Collapse-Will-be-the-Single-Largest-Event-in-Human-History

Does anyone have any insight as to what is really going on here? The whole charade has been described as Kabuki theater, and it no doubt is in some form, but what purpose does it serve for TPTB? Both sides dig in and refuse to compromise, and they do both have some valid points regarding the issue, but overall they are both horribly disingenuous and refuse to address entire subjects like the amount of money we are spending on wars. If the consequences of default are as catastrophic as claimed then it would seem it could not be allowed to happen, so are they just trying to scare everyone? Or is a default a real possibility in order to "move things into the next phase"? Perhaps when a deal is cut at the last minute there will be an opportunity for some to look like heroes, but I am still trying to figure out if there is a real, esoteric point behind all this other than distraction. It is certainly being made to look like serious business.

I know the political system is a joke, but following it is an old habit I haven't yet kicked.
 
I'd be very very surprised if they didn't raise the debt ceiling and think this is all about political brinksmanship much like the government shutdown stuff that happened earlier this year. So I see it as a fight for 'control' at a low level of TPTB.
 
The President (:osama:) is now using fear tactics blaming others & we're gonna get a tax hike. Anyone think the gubement is going to downsize themselves? I DON'T THINK SO...
:headbash: :headbash: :headbash:

_http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html
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.
[...]
Lawmakers from both parties want to use the threat of that deadline to work out a broader package on long-term deficit reduction, with Republicans looking to cut trillions of dollars in federal spending, while Democrats are pushing for a more "balanced approach," which would include both spending cuts and increased revenue through taxes.
[...]
Mr. Obama told Pelley "this is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out."
There is a video of Mr. Wonderful at that site. :barf: :barf: :barf:

Cracks me up there is no money for retirees yet, they give cash printed in their basement to cronies, other gubements, banksters, and other assorted thugs. Observing these psychopaths can be very draining and frustrating. If one does not know about these heartless humanoid wannabees, one is perplexed in seeing an absolutely crazy world with no common sense.
They are just PURE :evil: :evil: :evil:

edit: for poor choices of words, clarity again...
 
I agree with Bear. I think they will eventually end up raising it and it does seem to be a low level struggle for control. But they are playing with fire - there are signs that the debate has already affected the markets and the timing of this, going right along with the European crisis, is awfully precarious. Assuming some of the actors involved actually believe some small measure of what they are spouting on TV, it seems like just another "doomsday" scenario to add on when there are already plenty to go around. Both sides act like they are trying to prevent longer-term catastrophe while they inch us closer to more immediate catastrophe while bickering. And then the "Tea Party" people say are willing to let the whole thing blow up just to stand on principle, and I have to wonder if they aren't right but for completely wrong reasons.

The timing just seems odd. There are a good half dozen or more reasons for TEOTWAWKI happening in the next year or two, maybe even before the end of this year, and TPTB or their low-level minions are creating an artificial one in the midst of it.
 
So this is still going on, and at the moment doesn't appear likely to be resolved before the deadline.

I'm a little surprised there isn't more speculation about this here, but then I don't have any great insight into it either. It seems like the two camps have dug in their heels with their respective arguments and cannot justify compromising until after they let the default go through.

I have no idea to what degree all the apocalyptic economic predictions are true, but it doesn't seem like it would take much to start a collapsing domino trend from what we have now. Possibly the first dominoes have already fallen. To let it happen on purpose like this, through stubborn political brinksmanship, it just seems like there would be something to the old adage that nothing in politics happens by accident. Some sort of plan to send things into a tailspin and crack down, declare martial before things really get bad in however many more months, perhaps?
 
meta-agnostic said:
I'm a little surprised there isn't more speculation about this here,

What is to speculate? My view is that most if not all of them are self-serving psychopaths. To me, current history proves they don't give a damn about us, the regular people. They have their games of greed and power to play within their ranks and I DO NOT think "we" get any true consideration. Voting them out does nothing. Another $%&* will take their place. And they work hard to keep us stupid. The system is corrupt beyond the Founding Fathers recognition of what a Republic was meant to be. If "they" ever DO anything for the people, well... It just ain't gonna happen. osit
 
meta-agnostic said:
So this is still going on, and at the moment doesn't appear likely to be resolved before the deadline.

I'm a little surprised there isn't more speculation about this here, but then I don't have any great insight into it either. It seems like the two camps have dug in their heels with their respective arguments and cannot justify compromising until after they let the default go through.

I have no idea to what degree all the apocalyptic economic predictions are true, but it doesn't seem like it would take much to start a collapsing domino trend from what we have now. Possibly the first dominoes have already fallen. To let it happen on purpose like this, through stubborn political brinksmanship, it just seems like there would be something to the old adage that nothing in politics happens by accident. Some sort of plan to send things into a tailspin and crack down, declare martial before things really get bad in however many more months, perhaps?

My sense is that this is an 'emergency' which allows for more manipulation of laws and deregulation in order to further the aims of the puppet masters. Have you read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein? I've also seen some pretty good articles by Michael Hudson explaining the details of this current drama. Some have been published @ Global Research.

There is likely to be so much going on that we don't see or know that it is difficult to make much sense of the dramas that are played out in the media for everyone to fixate on.
 
Thanks venusian. The Shock Doctrine is on my list. It does certainly seem like whatever we are hearing about in the media is not the whole story. And it's certainly not helped by the fact that a good 2/3 or more of the public does not understand this issue or even care to try enough to be really following it.

I guess I'm so apprehensive about this because if this is going to be a defining moment, should we act on it if it is being telegraphed as such? For those of us still in the U.S. and in urban areas highly dependent on and integrated with the global economy, should we start cashing out our resources and heading for the hills to whatever extent possible? Should we have done this a long time ago regardless if it really mattered and we were so concerned? :huh:
 
Al Today said:
meta-agnostic said:
I'm a little surprised there isn't more speculation about this here,

What is to speculate? My view is that most if not all of them are self-serving psychopaths. To me, current history proves they don't give a damn about us, the regular people. They have their games of greed and power to play within their ranks and I DO NOT think "we" get any true consideration. Voting them out does nothing. Another $%&* will take their place. And they work hard to keep us stupid. The system is corrupt beyond the Founding Fathers recognition of what a Republic was meant to be. If "they" ever DO anything for the people, well... It just ain't gonna happen. osit

Al Today,

Sorry, didn't see your post. Sure, that's all likely true and important to keep in mind when considering things. But the future is open, and there are always unpredicted consequences and random butterfly-wing-flapping effects in the machinery. If their machinations are really going to have immediate far-reaching effects this time, I'm just trying to figure out if they actually know what they are, and if it's possible for us to know what they are and be slightly more prepared for it.
 
meta-agnostic said:
I guess I'm so apprehensive about this because if this is going to be a defining moment, should we act on it if it is being telegraphed as such? For those of us still in the U.S. and in urban areas highly dependent on and integrated with the global economy, should we start cashing out our resources and heading for the hills to whatever extent possible? Should we have done this a long time ago regardless if it really mattered and we were so concerned? :huh:

I would say 'no', there's no reason to be "heading for the hills" at this point. There's really no way we can anticipate exactly what the fallout from such a financial crisis might be. It could result in a currency meltdown and it might not. There are a lot of directions this situation with US debt could take. If it does result in a currency meltdown, for instance, there are examples from other countries that have gone through these before (although a US dollar crash would likely be somewhat unique given the size and scope of the US economy). Here is a good article to check out if you haven't already:

Survival in Times of Uncertainty: Growing Up in Russia in the 1990s

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/147683-Survival-in-Times-of-Uncertainty-Growing-Up-in-Russia-in-the-1990s

The book Defying Hitler gives a decent account of what the hyperinflation period of the Weimar Republic was like from a citizen's perspective. In some ways, I think 1930's Germany might be a more apt analogy for our situation given the increasing push towards overt fascism in the US.

Whatever the situation, I think people would want to network closely with their neighbors and try to work together in whatever ways they can to make life manageable. Of course, there's no substitute for staying alert and keeping an eye on the objective reality as much as possible. Running away to isolation would likely be counter productive and smacks of a fear driven response based more on fantasy than an objective assessment of the situation, fwiw.
 
Thanks RyanX. Haven't read that article yet.

I probably shouldn't have used the "head for the hills" phrase in such a literal way. I do have that sort of fantasy from time to time but I know overall it is counterproductive. I don't want to take the focus in this thread off the debt issue and put it on my problems, but I have felt for some time that the situation I am in right now is not viable long term, even if things were to stay relatively "normal" for some time. Because of all this impending doom around the corner, it has become a second-guessing game of, "What direction should I take? Should I pack up and put myself in a different situation right now while things are stable? Or wait for a sign of some sort that it really is time to re-locate? If I wait that long will it be too late? Wherever I go, it may be slightly more stable for slightly longer but there's no guarantee it will really improve my chances. If one takes the 4D Wave into account is there really any point in thinking about things in these terms?"

I know lots of other people are probably having similar thoughts so I want to keep things general, but I just don't see how staying both in the same apartment and at the same job for another year can be a good idea for me. With that in mind, a relocation away from one of the "burners" as things heat up seems fairly logical. How to weigh the decision based on fear, or current events, or personal issues, or rational analysis is something I haven't figured out yet.
 
meta-agnostic said:
Thanks RyanX. Haven't read that article yet.

I probably shouldn't have used the "head for the hills" phrase in such a literal way. I do have that sort of fantasy from time to time but I know overall it is counterproductive. I don't want to take the focus in this thread off the debt issue and put it on my problems, but I have felt for some time that the situation I am in right now is not viable long term, even if things were to stay relatively "normal" for some time. Because of all this impending doom around the corner, it has become a second-guessing game of, "What direction should I take? Should I pack up and put myself in a different situation right now while things are stable? Or wait for a sign of some sort that it really is time to re-locate? If I wait that long will it be too late? Wherever I go, it may be slightly more stable for slightly longer but there's no guarantee it will really improve my chances. If one takes the 4D Wave into account is there really any point in thinking about things in these terms?"

I know lots of other people are probably having similar thoughts so I want to keep things general, but I just don't see how staying both in the same apartment and at the same job for another year can be a good idea for me. With that in mind, a relocation away from one of the "burners" as things heat up seems fairly logical. How to weigh the decision based on fear, or current events, or personal issues, or rational analysis is something I haven't figured out yet.

Maybe the thing to focus on isn't where to relocate to, but looking for ways to give back to the Universe or aligning your life to do such. Then when the time comes to move you'll be aligned in the right direction and opportunities will open up to you. Remember it's "who you are and what you SEE" that counts. If you are seeing reality clearly, if you are seeing yourself and your own motivations clearly, your chances of knowing when and where to move are going to be much better than if you're just worried about your physical survival and pick some place to move to based on that motivation.

That said, moving in response to a potential economic meltdown seems a bit off. Supposedly a run on the dollar would affect all areas of the country, probably the world. Where on earth would be a safe place under these conditions?... or is your thinking that sparsely populated areas will be safer than cities? That might be true if you look at crime statistics now even without a crisis. But even so, rural areas have their problems too. Most people are poor, jobs are hard to come by, labor is back-breaking. I could be wrong, but it sounds like your motivation to move is based on fear at this point. Maybe you'd like to explore these feelings in the Swamp? It's totally up to you.
 
Here's a slightly different perspective on the "debt ceiling" problem. It comes from Catherine Austin Fitts, someone I deem knowledgable. The numbers that she mentions are astronomical, but they are not carelessly put forth. Four trillion missing (mostly into the Black Budget), and a MINIMUM of 12 trillion for the bank bailout. Combined, this is bigger than the total deficit. As she points out, it is a problem of criminality...not economics.

http://www.youtube.com/user/financialsurvivalpod#p/u/3/3bnwWXzVilA
 
For Fiat debt purposes, thought this visualization was pretty telling:

_http://www.wtfnoway.com/

Also

When discussing a recent 100 million dollar budget cut that Obama bandied about, a student featured here puts things into a little perspective.

_http://wimp.com/budgetcuts/

Just curious, but it is understood that the ptb are voting on the bill tonight/tomorrow and there is the good possibility that default will come to be. Not sure, however if it did go this route, there are options to cover the debt payments with reserves - what type? Was thinking if there is still gold in Knox, not the salted kind, this might be one of the prizes being sought for the bankers to get their hands on; a calculated congressional stalling tactic helps facilitate? :pirate:
 
Fwiw, this article sums up my thoughts on the subject quite nicely.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/232703-US-This-Country-Defaulted-Long-Ago
 
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