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White House says Republicans will 'do the right thing' on U.S. debt limit
[Diarist's Note: h/t to Kossack Tchrldy, in the comments below, for pointing this out! This story is running around the globe; and, if you do a Google search on the headline, as it appears above, you'll see what I mean. (Some examples: "WH: Republicans Will Do 'Right Thing' on Shutdown, Debt," from Voice of America; and "White House says Republicans will 'do the right thing' on US debt limit," from the Times of India.) Reuters, however has either completely changed it, which you'll see by clicking on the link, above; or, they made a mistake and they have yet to correct it. Not sure. Kind of a new "issue" for yours truly.]
WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 9, 2013 1:32pm EDT
(Reuters) - The White House believes Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives will "do the right thing" and pass legislation to lift the debt limit and reopen the government, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Wednesday.
In the meantime, President Barack Obama has directed lawyers at the Defense Department and White House budget office to find an immediate legal fix for paying death benefits to military families - which were cut off during the government shutdown, Carney said.
Obama expects the death benefit problem to be fixed on Wednesday, Carney said...
Coming Up...Act II: The
Grand Bargain tragedy unfolds...
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IMHO, Matt Taibbi's famous words apply...
Wall Street’s Big Win, Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi, August 4th, 2010
…a prime example of the basic con of congressional politics. Throughout the debate over finance reform, Democrats had sold the public on the idea that it was the Republicans who were killing progressive initiatives. In reality, Republican and Democratic leaders were working together with industry insiders and deep-pocketed lobbyists to prevent rogue members like Merkley and Levin from effecting real change. In public, the parties stage a show of bitter bipartisan stalemate. But when the cameras are off, they fuck like crazed weasels in heat…
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From Joseph Stiglitz, yesterday...
Five Years In Limbo
Joseph Stiglitz
Project Syndicate
October 8th, 2013
NEW YORK – When the US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, triggering the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, a broad consensus about what caused the crisis seemed to emerge. A bloated and dysfunctional financial system had misallocated capital and, rather than managing risk, had actually created it. Financial deregulation – together with easy money – had contributed to excessive risk-taking. Monetary policy would be relatively ineffective in reviving the economy, even if still-easier money might prevent the financial system’s total collapse. Thus, greater reliance on fiscal policy – increased government spending – would be necessary.
Five years later, while some are congratulating themselves on avoiding another depression, no one in Europe or the United States can claim that prosperity has returned....
...
...22 million Americans who would like a full-time job cannot find one. Labor-force participation in the US has fallen to levels not seen since women began entering the labor market in large numbers. Most Americans’ income and wealth are below their levels long before the crisis. Indeed, a typical full-time male worker’s income is lower than it has been in more than four decades...
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...The financial system may be more stable than it was five years ago, but that is a low bar – back then, it was teetering on the edge of a precipice. Those in government and the financial sector who congratulate themselves on banks’ return to profitability and mild – though hard-won – regulatory improvements should focus on what still needs to be done. The glass is, at most, only one-quarter full; for most people, it is three-quarters empty.
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Question for the commenters: In a time of record-breaking income inequality, is it appropriate for any self-respecting Democrat to be supporting any legislative efforts that tout "shared sacrifice" and a "bipartisan consensus?"
Of course, we're talking about an administration that has already acknowledged (just weeks after the President's re-election) that when it comes to economic matters they are actually Reagan Republicans: Wherein President Obama Begins To Explain: "How Democrats Became Liberal Republicans" (12/23/12).
So, yes, this Democrat does NOT support any attempts to impose Reaganomics upon our society in 2013.
Apparently, some people in this community call that "Obama hate." I call it being a Democrat.
Stiglitz is right, we're still in limbo.
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