Republicans are willing to try almost any stunt to divert public attention from the Ryan budget fiasco that had brought Republicans the well deserved ire of Americans. Therefore they are scheduling a vote to raise the debt ceiling, which they intend to vote down. The purpose is to prove Democrats are the party that does not care about the debt, or that Democrats also support the draconian Republican cuts. Of course, neither is true.
A week after losing a Republican-leaning House seat, the GOP will schedule a vote on whether to raise the nation’s debt ceiling that they hope will show that Democrats are just as unwilling to increase how much the government can borrow without significantly reducing how much it spends.
Republicans, anxious from the loss in New York that was blamed on their efforts to cut Medicare, are eager to show voters that Democrats are also insisting on reining in spending and that it’s not just the GOP taking a knife to popular government programs.
The proposal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling is not expected to pass and Democrats dismiss the vote as a political stunt. But Republicans say it will help force Congress and the White House to accept that significant cuts will be necessary in any bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Washington Examiner>
It only takes a brief glance at the chart above to understand that it is really the Republican party that does not care about increasing the debt. For them the debt is a straw man to disguise what they really care about: destroying Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the rest of the safety net for the poor and middle classes to divert those funds into more welfare for millionaires, billionaires and criminal corporations.
The Democrats are serious about reducing the debt, but they want the rich to share in the sacrifices, something Republicans refuse to consider. Also remember that, according to the CBO, the only budget proposal that actually does reduce the debt is The People’s Budget, proposed by the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party.
So when people you know bring this up, you now have the info to debunk this Republican use of smoke and mirrors.
12 Responses to “A New Republican Misrepresentation”
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De-fund congress and the debt will fall or tax lobbyists 50% of the amount their clients spend enacting laws and the debt will be erased in 2 years.
I’d rather tax lobbyists at 100%.
Good idea! Or maybe we should tax all bonuses at 80%. This would pay it off just as quick.
Too true, Blue.
Perfectly illustrates : No Honor in a Republican Thief ;
Well said, Phyllis.
Wow, look at those numbers – and I thought Bush was bad! Holy shite! Ronnie, you really out did yourself there! 😯
Didn’t he though? It shocked me too!
You have to understand that these are statistical percentages. In 1980 the US debt was about 2.5 trillion. 189% increase… lets just round up and say in 1990 it was 5 trillion. that means he cause a 2.5 trillion dollar increase in US gross debt.
In 2008 our gross debt was about 11 trillion (rounding up) during the obama administration we took that and raised it 3.3 trillion to 14.3 trillion.
3.3 trillion > 2.5 trillion. Not to mention when you look at debt as a % of GDP, Reagan had that percentage at an all-time low, and during a booming economy. The current administration has that % much higher (not quite as high as WWII) during a bigger, yet MUCH slower, and unstable economy.
Reagan was a lot more responsible about it. Just saying.
And bush was an arse. But I liked him nonetheless.
Kory, you talk a good game, but you are glossing over some key facts. First, you aren’t factoring true inflation. The reason Reagan’s percentage was at an all time low is that the economy was booming, inflating the bubble that burst. Obama inherited a Bushwhacked economy, so of course the debt as a % of GDP is higher. You also ignore that almost all the spending under Obama was committed from before he took office. Finally, whether you define debt as a percentage or in real dollars, the overwhelming majority of it was accumulated onder Republicans.
But seriously, did anyone actually think a President whose baby project was a defense initiative called “Star Wars” wouldn’t have spent a shitload of money on it?
Welcome Matt!! 🙂
LOL! Good thinking!