GOP Leader takes credit for S&P downgrade

First off -

From S & P's report outlining the cause of the downgrade

Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place.

We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

www.dailykos.com...

www.businessinsider.com...

The S& P was clear about their reasoning.

This is what Boehner had to say about the bill that passed.

Pelley: You were unable to get your own caucus behind your bill a few days ago. Do you intend to remain Speaker of the House?


Boehner: I do. When you look at this final agreement that we came to with the white House, I got 98% percent of what I wanted. I'm pretty happy.

Video here
www.cbsnews.com...

Pretty Happy??

I am just wondering with the GOPs penchant for revisionist history, how long will it be before they claim that they wanted to eliminate the Bush era tax cuts?

They already are challenging Americans to abandon reality in claiming that the bill that was passed was "President Obama's".

Let's be clear. Speaker Boehner says in plain English that the in the bill that the GOP held the economy hostage over he got 98% of what he wanted and that he was "pretty happy" about it

The GOP owns this downgrade - or at least 98% of it.
Not a partisan spin, but rather the Leader of GOP saying exactly that.

Opinions?

Boehner might want to curb his enthusiasm for his great "victory".

Some results from the post-deal poll by McClatchy:

By 47-43 percent, voters said they thought the deal was bad for the country.

Democrats were the only ones who thought it was good for the country, by 56-34 percent. Independents thought it was bad for the country by 49-40, and Republicans by 63-31.


At the same time, voters said by 79-14 percent that the debt debate left them less confident in Washington.

They think the deal treated these segments of society unfairly:


• By 65-27 percent, they think it treated the elderly unfairly. That belief was found almost evenly across party lines.

• By 63-29, they think it treated the poor unfairly. Independents felt the strongest, 69-26.

• By 61-30, they think it treated the middle class unfairly. Republicans felt the strongest, 66-27.

Conversely, voters think the deal treated others well:

• By 57-33, they think that those with high incomes were treated fairly. Democrats felt that the most, 70-23; Republicans the least, 45-43.

• By 56-31, voters think the pact treated corporate America well.

The generally bad reaction bodes ill for members of Congress who voted for the deal, at least as of now.

Poll: Americans See Debt Deal as Bad for Nation

Definitely wouldn't be bragging about this in the media. Notice how it was the Republicans who were the most soured by this fiasco? Mr. Boehner, that's your base that is so p.o.'d you know.

Someone might believe him and that would hurt his chances in 2012.

reply to post by Indigo5


The tea party and the GOP live on lies and distortions.The debt ceiling issue ONLY became an issue over the tea party’s threat to default and everybody with any honesty admits that.
In fact before this no one hardley heard of or knew what the debt ceiling was.

reply to post by inforeal


Agreed.

What astonishes me the most about this fiasco is the profound reality disconnect.

The same GOP/TP that was saying that default would be a good idea and wouldn't hurt our rating..

The same GOP/TP that hammered consumer confidence during a fragile recovery by threatening to default...

The same GOP/TP that refused to allow any corporate tax loop-holes to be closed or tax breaks on the wealthiest 2% to expire...

The same GOP/TP that backed out of the larger "Grand Bargain" that literally included everything the S & P said they needed to maintain the rating...long term, plus entitlement reforms, spending cuts and modest revenues.

The same GOP that got everything they wanted and then proudly took all the credit for 98% of the bill...

Is now ducking their heads and saying the bill that caused the downgrade is "President Obama's".

How dumb do they think Americans are??????

We used to live in a society with two signficantly different visions of what it should be...this was the time when people could sit down together in respect and voice their disagreements and find a sort of middle ground based on a cross between principles mixed with logic...both sides knowing they didn't represent all of america, but just a significant portion.

Now, lately, we live in two completely seperate realities, and the concept of sitting down only happens so long as instead of principles and logic, its demands and retoric...logic left the building, even facts left the building.

I have been around for a few presidencys...I have never seen this so nutty before, but, I don't fully believe its a natural progression...I see there are a -lot- of corporate dollars mixed in with foreign interests trying to ultimately collapse the economy so new players can come out and enforce a more facist style global economy. The fix is to eliminate these interests and the subterfuge attempts...yet, it won't happen, because the people in the pilot seat are either fully in on it, or blissfully unaware, both being the same result...they will pound the desks, never negotiate, never compromise in order to cater to the base (trying to be neutral here, but facts and logic points to this being the right wing's methodology...but meh).

Eventually, you look at the whole mess and notice one thing...the ship is sinking and the people in charge are not even looking at the hole, they are screaming about what type of wood the helm wheel should be.

Originally posted by Indigo5
The same GOP that got everything they wanted and then proudly took all the credit for 98% of the bill...

Is now ducking their heads and saying the bill that caused the downgrade is "President Obama's".

How dumb do they think Americans are??????

They =know= americans are very dumb...and they are right...and it may work.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Part of me agrees with you, but I have to hold out optimism.

Honestly I want the GOP to come to their senses and return to their original principles of conservatism.

We need their voice.

But what I see is a party hijacked by corporations and special interests using an angry mass egged on with hot button issues and false appeals to patriotism (TP) as their foot soldiers to deliver a plutocracy agenda.

There is no long term, good outcome...either the "new" GOP suceed and the Middle class fails and we become a 2nd or 3rd rate nation...or the GOP is ousted and the Democrats take more power than they are due or deserve and there is less discourse and rational debate within our government guiding it toward the path that best serves the people.

I want a return to where both sides of the aisle at least listened to eachother and prioritized what is best for the American people above idealogy.

Yeah I am still a little concerned about why Boehner was so satisfied when apparently not one single person from either side aside from him is even remotely happy. Of course, I do not see him out there cheerleading about how satisfied he was and no one is supporting him but I guess maybe they are all busy trying to come up with excuses for the so called teabagger Republicans that went along with him.

If the government "raising revenues" means increasing taxes then Hell yes he's happy and so am I. Get your head out of the sand, the government can't continue to spend more than it takes in and the amount of people paying taxes keeps getting smaller due to no jobs in the US and the entitlement culture that has been created.

We are in the mess we are right now in this nation thanks to the incompetence of the two elite parties in power catering to private interest rather than the will of the people.

They are playing the American tax payer with tax cuts that actually do not benefit the working class but the more affluent class in the nation that pays for the elite parties campaign funds.

We are in a mess with an unsustainable debt, a debt brought by greed.

Without tax increases the nation can not generate enough revenue to pay for it, that is a fact.

And with the unemployment rates and the lack of meaningful jobs the working class can not afford more taxes, but let blame those that make the laws in the nation that has brought the once proud industrial nation to a nation of nothing but consumers now on credit card debt, homeless and on hand me out government services.

Originally posted by jjkenobi
If the government "raising revenues" means increasing taxes then Hell yes he's happy and so am I.

"raising revenues" means ending billions in subsidies for oil companies, closing corporate loopholes that allow companies like GE to pay zero in taxes while making Billions in profits and leting tax breaks expire for those making over 250k a year.

These entities got trillions in taxpayer money during the bailout, they have not created jobs. Eliminating the special breaks they continue to recieve is the least we can do.

reply to post by Indigo5


Is not going to happen because that is the group that feeds the elite parties in the nation, see you don't bite the hand that feeds you, they are the ones funneling campaign funds and lobbyist in congress to keep things just the way the are.

America is one of the most corrupted nations in the world when it comes to dirty under the table money interest, and guess what? now we are open to foreign funding to our elected officials also, thanks to the supreme court.

I don't get tired of saying that our political officials are nothing but whores for sell in Washington.

reply to post by marg6043


I have to agree with you. When I look at the mass of tax loop-holes and tax breaks that have been piled onto the tax code by congress as payback to corporations and interest groups, when I look at the Koch brothers and PACs and the supreme court's ruling, the GOP overturning McCain's McCain-Feingold act etc. etc. Mitt Romney just got 1 Million dollars from a "corporation" that was created and disolved in just a few months for the express purpose of giving him the money. Corporations are people - so says the supreme court? How many people live only 4 months for the sole purpose of donating 1 million dollars to a political candidate before they die/dissappear?

I just realized that countries like Mexico and Afghanistan where officials can be bought with a few hundred dollars of cash? Those countries are actually more honest...the corruption hasn't been legalized yet.
Here in the USA, the corruption is legal and it involves a whole lot more zeros.

reply to post by Indigo5


They're economic illiterates and only care about their personal wealth and that of their corporate sponsors...

It's a FACT that without revenue increases (aka repealing the Bush tax cuts) the deficit won't be fixed. Anyone looking at the amounts involved objectively can see that...





Jim Rogers nails it...as always

Originally posted by Indigo5
reply to post by inforeal

 

Agreed.

What astonishes me the most about this fiasco is the profound reality disconnect.

The same GOP/TP that was saying that default would be a good idea and wouldn't hurt our rating..

The same GOP/TP that hammered consumer confidence during a fragile recovery by threatening to default...

The same GOP/TP that refused to allow any corporate tax loop-holes to be closed or tax breaks on the wealthiest 2% to expire...

The same GOP/TP that backed out of the larger "Grand Bargain" that literally included everything the S & P said they needed to maintain the rating...long term, plus entitlement reforms, spending cuts and modest revenues.

The same GOP that got everything they wanted and then proudly took all the credit for 98% of the bill...

Is now ducking their heads and saying the bill that caused the downgrade is "President Obama's".

How dumb do they think Americans are??????

edit on 9-8-2011 by Indigo5 because: (no reason given)

edit on 9-8-2011 by Indigo5 because: (no reason given)

Kinda reminds me of the HealthCare Reform Act in which they refused to even allow a seat at the negotiating table for "Single-Payer" and/or "Public-Option" representatives and then, after it's passed and the private "for-profit" insurance industry begins raising rates, they label it "ObamaCare," complain about how it's going to cost more than it should and then move to repeal it.

If they're going to continue to attach the President's name to this deliberately flawed legislation, the least they could do would be to let Obama have it his way. The worst thing about this whole scenario is that they think that the rest of us are to stupid to recognize their true agenda for what it is. I don't even understand how they can continue to call this "Obama's Economy." If the republicans keep getting 98% of what they want, (extension of the Bush tax cuts, utilization of private for-profit insurance companies in the HealthCare reform Act and now a deficit reduction program that is devoid of revenue increases) how is this Obama's economy?

On another note, I noticed this comment from "jjkenobi" and I couldn't help but respond;

If the government "raising revenues" means increasing taxes then Hell yes he's happy and so am I. Get your head out of the sand, the government can't continue to spend more than it takes in and the amount of people paying taxes keeps getting smaller due to no jobs in the US and the entitlement culture that has been created.

I guess for the rich, "Taxes Are Just Too Damn High" kinda like rent for one of the republican presidential candidates.

content.usatoday.com...
IRS: 1,470 millionaires paid no income tax in '09

www.reuters.com...
Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes

blogs.suntimes.com...
Ten giant U.S. companies avoiding income taxes: Sen. Bernie Sanders list

www.businessinsider.com...
16 More Profitable Companies That Pay Almost Nothing In Taxes

I wish I had to pay a million dollars a year in income tax because that would mean that I had made considerably more than that in total, leaving me with a healthy sum to enjoy my life. Funny thing, how enough is never enough for the wealthy.

Originally posted by Flatfish

content.usatoday.com...
IRS: 1,470 millionaires paid no income tax in '09

www.reuters.com...
Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes

blogs.suntimes.com...
Ten giant U.S. companies avoiding income taxes: Sen. Bernie Sanders list

www.businessinsider.com...
16 More Profitable Companies That Pay Almost Nothing In Taxes

I wish I had to pay a million dollars a year in income tax because that would mean that I had made considerably more than that in total, leaving me with a healthy sum to enjoy my life. Funny thing, how enough is never enough for the wealthy.

And people wonder why we have a deficit

Until this gets fixed, the deficit won't get fixed...sadly I don't see it happening. The very people who could fix it (politicians) are now fully owned subsidiaries of corporate America. They aren't working for the people anymore!!

Originally posted by MrXYZ

Until this gets fixed, the deficit won't get fixed...sadly I don't see it happening.

The S&P agrees with you. Economists agree with you. The vast majority of the American Public agree with you.
The stock market agrees with you. But the GOP?....

Even as stocks slid to new lows today the GOP announced that the 6 folks they assigned to the "super-committee" have pledged to keep loop-holes and tax breaks for mega-corporations and the wealthiest 2% in place.

Precisely what S & P said can't happen.

Originally posted by Indigo5

Originally posted by MrXYZ

Until this gets fixed, the deficit won't get fixed...sadly I don't see it happening.

The S&P agrees with you. Economists agree with you. The vast majority of the American Public agree with you.
The stock market agrees with you. But the GOP?....

Even as stocks slid to new lows today the GOP announced that the 6 folks they assigned to the "super-committee" have pledged to keep loop-holes and tax breaks for mega-corporations and the wealthiest 2% in place.

Precisely what S & P said can't happen.

If they really go through with this, you know EXACTLY which 6 members of that "super committee" are responsible for the ultimate downfall of the US economy. You will also know who's bought by the top 1% and the mega-corporations, because no one having a clue about economics would ever come up with a pledge like that. It's stupid, it's reckless, and they're ultimately not only playing with the economic wellbeing of the US citizens, but also those of the rest of the world.

Borderline criminal! And super scary because they don't seem to realize that in the medium term the dollar won't be the reserve currency any longer...at which point the dollar will tank even more. It's already being traded at around 0.72 Swiss Francs, no imagine it drops another 50% while in that state!!! US citizens won't be able to afford vacations abroad anymore, every single imported good will skyrocket in price. Prepare for pay $10 per banana

Originally posted by MrXYZ

Originally posted by Indigo5

Originally posted by MrXYZ

Until this gets fixed, the deficit won't get fixed...sadly I don't see it happening.

The S&P agrees with you. Economists agree with you. The vast majority of the American Public agree with you.
The stock market agrees with you. But the GOP?....

Even as stocks slid to new lows today the GOP announced that the 6 folks they assigned to the "super-committee" have pledged to keep loop-holes and tax breaks for mega-corporations and the wealthiest 2% in place.

Precisely what S & P said can't happen.

If they really go through with this, you know EXACTLY which 6 members of that "super committee" are responsible for the ultimate downfall of the US economy.

From TheHill.com today..

The six conservative stalwarts picked for the supercommittee have all vowed to oppose tax increases, a fact that appears to make it less likely that the group will go beyond its mandate to find $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts.

Reid had promised to appoint open-minded members, while the House GOP vowed not to appoint anyone open to tax increases.

thehill.com...

This was part of the reason the stock market tanked today.

Not only is the GOP Debt limit bill insufficient but it looks like S&P was right when they said they think the insanity will continue...idealogical cuts rather than logical ones and the fierce preservation of tax breaks and loop holes for Mega Corps and Millionaires.

Just complete insane idealogical extremism and total oblivious disregard for the reality of the suffering they are inflicting on this nation.

For efs sake...go ahead, cut spending, but not pennies in the budget like NPR or Planned Parenthood...efn cut genuine expenses...Military and discretionary spending is almost half the budget!! Go ahead and reform entitlements, do it fairly and I am good with it.

And then efen close loop holes that allow profitable billion dollar corporations to pay less in taxes than you or I !!!!

And guess what??? The Bush era Tax Breaks for Millionaire "job creators" have been in effect for 10 years!!!! What we got for them was not "Job Creation" but efen economic collapse and unemployment through the roof.

Geezus...these guys are sinking the country. They are idealogical terrorists that have hijacked the GOP and by extension the House of Representitives and Americans are just sitting in the cabin with our seatbelts fastened as we nosedive waiting for impact.

I am starting to think Pres. Obama should have never released his COLB. If he hadn't then maybe these batsh*& crazy people would still be preoccupied with it rather than turning their attention to and applying that same retarded thinking to our economy!! Bitter, hateful, ugly idealouges..

To them gridlock is victory and progress is a dirty word. Default is great..."Hell no" is "listening" and any debate that doesn't center around whether or not Obama is the anti-christ is...well..just to much for their lizard brain.

reply to post by Indigo5


All they need is a simple majority, 7 votes...and they were just handed free reign. The Dem's picked Max Baucus, $100 say he's going to side with the GOP, who already pledged to no tax increases. So that's it, there won't be any tax increases and fixing of loopholes.

Sorry to say, but I truly believe the US economy is pretty much done. Until they vote, there's still hope...not much though considering the GOP will get an almost guaranteed majority