Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Approaching Debt Ceiling Fiscal Cliff

Well, well. Turns out the last-minute avoidance of the so-called Fiscal Cliff merely pushed it down the road 30-60 days. The government's legal authority to borrow will expire sometime between Feb. 15 and March 31, in the absence of any congressional action to raise the debt ceiling.

Debt Ceiling Deadline May Be February 15 | According to an estimate by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the deadline for Congress to raise the nation’s debt limit — which House Republicans have threatened not to do without policy concessions — could be February 15 (or March 1, at the latest). As CNN Money reported, “there likely would be less revenue coming in than has to be paid out for each of the days between Feb. 15 and March 15. On Feb. 15, for instance, Treasury will take in an estimated $9 billion in revenue but is committed to pay out $52 billion.” President Obama has said that he won’t negotiate with Republicans over the debt limit.

Approaching deadline

 And then there is this little squib about what may happen come Feb. 15:

The federal government hit its legal borrowing limit of $16.394 trillion on Dec. 31, and has begun taking "extraordinary measures" to cover shortfalls. The Bipartisan Policy Center's estimate indicates when those measures run out and the Treasury will only be able to pay bills with the daily revenue coming in.
Problem is, there likely would be less revenue coming in than has to be paid out for each of the days between Feb. 15 and March 15.
On Feb. 15, for instance, Treasury will take in an estimated $9 billion in revenue but is committed to pay out $52 billion.
Authority to borrow

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Let's be honest here. What's really going on is the current House's refusal to fund debts taken on in good faith by its predecessor sessions. Did the people who voted for Republicans really intend to vote for a default on the good faith and credit of the U.S.? Did the people who voted for these Republicans intend to give terrorist\anarchist Lib-tards a chance to wreak havoc in the lives and welfare of millions of vulnerable citizens (by either forcing a government default or forcing cuts in social safety net programs)?

This debt ceiling deadline is much more of a true Fiscal Cliff than its previous namesake. And the stakes could not be higher for the republic. If you live in a district represented by a Republican, time to contact your rep to tell him or her not to hold the debt ceiling hostage to policy disputes. The stakes are simply too high.

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