Yes Biden negotiated with terrorists. The ONLY way this is even remotely acceptable is if it NEVER happens again. A favorable budget deal, the taming of the extreme right by an enormous bipartisan majority, these are positive developments from this mess. But this is no way to govern the nation. The debt ceiling MUST be abolished or someday this game of chicken will lead to disaster.

ArgH. Me fancies the turn o’ her bilge, matey!

Principles aside, Biden had arrows in his quiver he never fired. He could have taken his case to the people, using his bully pulpit to point out all the GOP tax cuts and spending bills they voted for. Even the Right acknowledges that “both sides” share in responsibility for the budget deficit. He could have insisted any spending cuts be balanced by equal tax increases on the rich, and of course, the IRS budget slash is not a budget buster at all, it is just a tax dodge curb. He could have used his veto and the 14th Amendment to make passage of the bill impossible, forcing the GOP to come up with a legislative alternative or commit to a lengthy litigation. He could have offered the GOP a good deal IF they waited till after the election (like THEY do when it comes to Supreme Court justices).

The deficit issue is a legitimate one, and the Republicans are right to press the Democrats on it. But using it in this fashion is just plain extortion, and it is unacceptable. Biden caved in because he’s afraid any economic problems brought about by it will be blamed on the Democrats in the next election. He was a coward, and perhaps he was influenced by rich Democratic campaign contributors who are worried about their own booty. If he doesn’t have enough faith in the American People to see through the GOP blackmail and punish them for it, then perhaps he deserves to lose. And if the American people fall for the GOP ransom, THEY deserve a Republican regime in Washington.

Now all that remains to be seen is how the GOP will use shakedown tactics the next time; Abortion, Religion, Gay Bashing, Immigration, Environment, Health, Labor, Anti-Trust, Ukraine, the Flat Tax? The possibilities are endless and they are all intolerable.

That said, this debt ceiling/budget deal is pretty much what we could have expected from divided government had it been negotiated in September instead of now. All this drama and humiliation on the world stage for nothing really. At least the budget is done for the year and the debt ceiling has been pushed to January 2025. But the bottom line coming out of this mess is that Biden rolled over these pukes. Dem priorities have been protected and only modest and temporary spending restrictions have been put in place. The IRS expansion has been cut by 25% but that is tolerable in the short run to prevent a global financial catastrophe. After the election next year if all goes well we can run this back.

All that said, the ONLY way this bullshit is acceptable is if Biden follows through with seeking to abolish the debt ceiling nonsense once and for all in the courts. This idiotic accounting gimmick which acts as a self destruct system to the entire global economy must be eliminated from the face of the earth once and for all. Never again must we deal with this madness.

Later, they used taxes to hire cops and and set up a legal system, prisons, etc to spread the expense around, so that the poor would have to pay part of the cost of the goons recruited to keep them down.

Now the rich are trying to set it up so their victims have to cover the full costs of their own oppression.

But that’s ok. If you keep your nose clean, follow the rules, stay out of trouble and do what you’re told then one day you’ll be rich too and they will welcome you into their company. Sure, I’m exaggerating a bit, but that’s how it works in most of the third world. And we’re working hard to spread that system here too.

What they forget is that sometimes they get a bit too greedy, and things spiral out of control.///

They also wat to get rid of the Federal Reserve, Public Education, Public health care, welfare, …

A few years back, we ran into an issue with the IRS where we had to verify our identities over the phone. Called every day for weeks, never got through. Had our accountant call every day. Had a lawyer call everyday. This went on for freaking months. Once we finally got through, it was a five minute conversation. Hours of our lives wasted.

So enjoy IRS customer service!

Next thing you know, they’ll be push for a return to the gold standard. I kid you not.

Call their bluff, or they’ll just be back next year to shake us down with something else. And they will continue coming back, year after year, with new ransom demands, new hostage takings. Now that blackmail has been shown to work, it will become their new tactic whenever they want something else.

And you know they never have enough. They always want more.

The debt ceiling is just a way to coerce a political fight. It really has no meaning in modern finance.