Loading ...I realize we have seen this many times in the past eight years under the Obama administration; extreme media hype over possible conflict between Republicans and Democrats in extending the ongoing debt ceiling problem for another couple of months or another couple of years. In every instance, Republicans feigned attempts to reduce government spending and then rolled over to extend. The entire fight was purely theatrical and likely meant to distract the public.
However, in this instance, certain elements are very different.
With the deadline of March 15th crossed, the clock is ticking on remaining funds and “extraordinary measures” designed to stretch the federal budget until a vote on a debt ceiling extension can take place. Funds are predicted to last perhaps until this fall. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a Goldman Sachs alumni, has of course asked congress for a quick vote to raise the ceiling. This is rather counter to Donald Trump’s original position that constant national debt increases are “embarrassing” to Republicans.
Given, it is not Trump’s fault that he inherits the most massively inflated liability bubble in U.S. history after Barack Obama nearly doubled the national debt during his tenure (an incredible feat, to be sure). But, this does not change the reality that the U.S. is far beyond its means to balance the budget or maintain the current level of spending. And, I would remind everyone that the official debt does not even including the trillions in ongoing costs associated with entitlement programs or social security.
With U.S. debt at a breaking point, it would seem prudent to institute considerable spending cuts. Of course, where those cuts are applied may become the excuse needed to drive the debt ceiling debate into crisis this time around.
I am not at all surprised that Democratic senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has recently vowed to throw the debt ceiling talks into disarray if Trump continues to pursue a rollback of Obamacare, the building of the southern border wall, or the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Schumer has specifically warned of a government shutdown designed to prevent the Trump administration from instituting such policies.
So, you can see why this particular debt ceiling fiasco might be different. With Trump in office, establishment elites do have a perfect opportunity to sow fiscal chaos and scapegoat conservatives in the process. Whether they will follow through or not remains to be seen…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-24/watch-these-geopolitical-flashpoints-carefully