US debt limit: Obama says sides are 'still far apart'

BBC News

Democrats and Republicans remain "far apart on a wide range of issues" in budget talks aimed at averting a looming default on US government debt, President Barack Obama has said.

But even if the White House and congressional leaders of both parties strike an agreement, they will have to win approval from rank-and-file party members, who may be less interested in the bargain.

Can they reach an agreement before Aug 2nd? Not looking good, is it? Still, they all look very happy in the picture

Personally, I think enough is enough. We're talking of raising the limit above 14 trillion dollars......14 trillion....isn't that a clue that the "system" is fundamentally broken? It can't be fixed at this point (right?) so let's just default and face the consequences.....consequences that will be brutal for sure, but from which we'll learn not to get in this stupid mess again.

reply to post by Curio


"Mr Obama's latest offer of cuts is designed to make a specific argument - that he is willing to go the extra mile but that the Republicans are so entrenched in their narrow political foxhole that they would rather cause another economic crisis than make a single compromise” - Mark Mardell BBC News

As election time looms it comes as no surprise the BBC and its puppets are working overtime to support Obama.

IMO I hope they can't reach an agreement so we can finally get the meltdown underway.

-Lightrule

This will be another last minute agreement. Each side is just holding out while the clock is still ticking.

No default will happen. If they can't agree the president will invoke the 14th ammendment.

Congress raised the limit for GWB 7 times. I think it's time those making over $250k to pay thier share of taxes.

Steve Jobbs the CEO of Apple just built a billion dollar Iphone plant in China. He created more jobs at that new plant then the US did in all of January. He's paying cineese workers $0.50 an hour and charging $600 per Iphone.

These people get tax breaks but they sure aren't creating jobs for us with the money. I say if they're gonna continue to reap the rewards of being American while the rest of us suffer it's time to pay up.

reply to post by Curio


But they sure can band together and bail their sponsors(banks) out.


What a bunch of hogwash, these numb skulls must be growing more desperate by the moment. What's the value of this news anyways? Just appeasement? Telling the public they can still fight each other from the left/right about this issue - while it affects the vast majority of people in the same way? Politics...

About a week left for an agreement... otherwise it'll be hard to get it in time.

But I bet they gonna play theatrics until August 1... then they'll do a special ``night`` session... where they will pass it... Or just default on August 2... and they will pass an increase on August 2...

The ``real`` dangerous phase begins at around August 4 when 90 billion needs to be paid on securities... and the actual deficit starts to kick in.

There's no way Fitch/SP/Moodys downgrade the US for a 2 days delay, especially when they are as corrupt as they are... if they do, it's all part of the plan.


Even Obama's ``plan`` of cutting 4 TRILLION over 10 YEARS is a joke... even if you do that, the annual deficit will still be over a trillion a year.

Damn the republicans for holding every single American hostage so that the rich and powerful can avoid paying their fair share. They are willing to to risk major worldwide economic calamity just so the most profitable corporations in the history of humanity can continue receiving major tax subsidies while they want to cut programs that help the most vulnerable members of society.

Don't forget that social security is the most successful federal program in American history and doesn't add a single penny to the debt. It currently has a $2.6 trillion surplus and is projected to have a surplus of over $4 trillion in the mid 2020's.

And if the US were to adopt a universal, single payer socialized health care program, not only would every single American have the health care coverage that they rightfully deserve, the long term debt projections would be greatly reduced.

The republican leadership does not care about the United States of America. They only care about short term power grabs. They know that a financial disaster will help their chances of winning the white house in 2012 and that even if Obama makes a deal with them to cut social programs (which he will because he doesn't know how to fight), the democratic base will not be enthused for his re-election campaign just as they weren't in the 2010 midterm elections. What is currently unfolding is a win-win for the extreme right in the short term and a lose-lose for the American people for decades to come. Completely disgraceful and pathetic.

GOP Lawmaker Refuses To Believe The Fact That Rep. Eric Cantor Is Shorting U.S. Treasury Bonds.

Last month, Salon reported that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is personally invested in a fund that “aggressively ‘shorts’ long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that it performs well when U.S. debt is undesirable.” Cantor owns up to $15,000 in the fund, which is called the ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF. Cantor, who leads the House GOP’s debt ceiling negotiations, would see his ETF rise dramatically in value if Republicans allow the country to default on its debt. And as Salon notes, Cantor recently broke off negotiations over raising the debt ceiling.

thinkprogress.org...

www.salon.com...

What do Bill Gross, Evan Newmark and Rep. Eric Cantor have in common? They’re all betting against Treasury debt!
But only one of these men has been involved in heated negotiations over the government’s debt ceiling, and that’s Eric Cantor, No. 2 Republican in the House.

Mr. Cantor, who walked out of debt discussions with Vice President Joe Biden last week, owns up to $15,000 in shares of the ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF, Salon notes today, updating a Wall Street Journal report on this from last year.

blogs.wsj.com...

I think that they will wait till the last minute and cram somethng through, and then the next day we can all wake up and find that they've done screwed us again, and as a bonus, another trillion will head out of the treasury and into their friends pockets!!!

the debt clock is no well over the debt ceiling, and everything seems to be ticking along fine.....
are you sure it's even an issue????