• US to hit debt ceiling by Monday
    180 replies, posted
[url]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323984704578203842315515834.html[/url] [quote=Wall Street Journal]The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the government would hit its $16.394 trillion borrowing limit by Monday, setting in motion a series of emergency steps that might buy the government until just February or March before it faces a full-blown debt crisis. Bucking recent precedent, the Treasury Department didn't specify the precise date on which it would exhaust its emergency measures and be forced to stop making certain payments. Rather, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to Congress that "given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it is not possible to predict the effective duration of these measures." He also said in the two-paragraph letter that "the extent to which the upcoming tax filing season will be delayed as a result of these unresolved policy questions is also uncertain." The Treasury's debt-limit warning came as the White House and congressional leaders have shown no signs of progress toward crafting an agreement to avoid the year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. President Barack Obama and Senate leaders will return to work on Thursday and are running out of time to broker a deal before tax increases hit almost every working American on Tuesday. Even if they manage to broker a narrow deal that blunts the impact of the fiscal cliff, it is possible that the White House and Congress will be setting themselves up for yet another battle over legislation to raise the debt ceiling in a month or two. The U.S. government is constrained by a hard limit on the level of debt it can accumulate, which is raised at the discretion of Congress. To finance its deficits, the government borrows money from investors by issuing debt. The last time the Obama administration notified Congress about nearing the debt ceiling in 2011, the White House and congressional Republicans locked horns in a budget battle that ultimately led Standard & Poor's to strip the U.S. government of its top-notch credit rating. Mr. Obama has said he won't negotiate with Congress again over raising the debt ceiling, saying that it is lawmakers' responsibility to authorize payments for debts the country has already accumulated. A number of Republicans have said the debt ceiling offers a prime opportunity to force the White House to agree to major budget changes. With Republicans in control of the House, another showdown is likely unless policy makers reach a deal in the next few days to avert the fiscal cliff and also raise the debt ceiling. The emergency measures typically can buy the Treasury Department between six and eight weeks of additional time. They include halting payments on federal pensions, suspending sales of special-purpose Treasury securities that are popular with state and local governments, and limiting investments in an account related to foreign-exchange holdings. The Treasury has never said how it might act if the debt ceiling were eventually breached. Once the emergency measures are exhausted, it becomes much more difficult for the government to issue new debt and borrow more money. One problem facing the Treasury Department is that it has much less cash-on hand this time than it did in 2011, limiting its ability to buffer a political stalemate. In May 2011, when the debt ceiling was hit, the government had roughly $128 billion in cash. As of last week, the government had $52.1 billion in cash, meaning it has less room for maneuver.[/quote]
Fuck.
Pretty obvious I won't be getting a job any time soon.
Why that number? Surely they'd have realized they were in a debt crisis by 15 trillion. PS I'm not American
Wonder if they would downgrade the credit rating again.
Can someone closely familiar with US' politics explain what this means in basic terms?
God damn it, America. Get your shit together.
Shall we commence the screaming and running around in circles?
[QUOTE=Midas22;38982294]Why that number? Surely they'd have realized they were in a debt crisis by 15 trillion. PS I'm not American[/QUOTE] The crisis isn't the debt, it is the fact that without a debt ceiling rise... something bad will happen, I can't exactly remember what but the problem is the ceiling, not the debt, at least in the shortterm.
[QUOTE=Thom12255;38982317]The crisis isn't the debt, it is the fact that without a debt ceiling rise... something bad will happen, I can't exactly remember what but the problem is the ceiling, not the debt, at least in the shortterm.[/QUOTE] I think I remember this now, hitting the ceiling = automatic cuts to all departments?
Totes Obama's fault. Mayans meant the end of MURICA! But forreal though, congress needs to do something instead of whining about it. edit: I guess I better get a job soon, I seen a few places "Now hiring"
I aint scurd
Cue retards blaming Obama.
Excuse me while I move to Canada
If 90% of our currency didn't exist strictly as numbers on a screen, we wouldn't have this issue.
[QUOTE=Medevilae;38982423]If the US heads into a recession, Canada will feel it too[/QUOTE] the world will feel it
Hitting the debt ceiling? Pft. It's time to raise the roof.
Cutting taxes and doubling the defence budget is the only solution
[QUOTE=TheSporeGA;38982392]Excuse me while I move to Canada[/QUOTE] Move to a European country so that you don't get visited by a mass of 'muricans fleeing the country. [editline]26th December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=smurfy;38982465]Cutting taxes and doubling the defence budget is the only solution[/QUOTE] So it can finally reach its trillion dollar goal.
holyshitlagsnipahhh
[QUOTE=Zero Ziat;38982442]Hitting the debt ceiling? Pft. It's time to raise the roof.[/QUOTE] But watch out for that cliff! [sp]can I get out of the car[/sp]
[QUOTE=Stopper;38982302]Can someone closely familiar with US' politics explain what this means in basic terms?[/QUOTE] once we hit the debt ceiling we can no longer legally take out debt. that means that any departments expecting extra money at the end of the year are now forced to accept a cut. in the short term this will probably only result in a small amount of problems. however, after a certain period of time it would be literally impossible to keep every department open at its current funding level and everything will take very large automatic cuts. also taxes will be higher for everyone.
[img]http://imgkk.com/i/_1ma.gif[/img]
Well, people have to pick one or the other. Fix unemployment, or fix the deficit problem? If you cut spending, it puts more people out of work, and if you keep spending, you have higher deficits. We just need to stop complaining about everything and fix things one at a time.
[QUOTE=yawmwen;38982528]once we hit the debt ceiling we can no longer legally take out debt. that means that any departments expecting extra money at the end of the year are now forced to accept a cut. in the short term this will probably only result in a small amount of problems. however, after a certain period of time it would be literally impossible to keep every department open at its current funding level and everything will take very large automatic cuts. also taxes will be higher for everyone.[/QUOTE] And its too late for the IRS to switch back to the Bush era tax cuts so even if its passed, this year will have an increased revenue.
Why don't they just print more money?! [sp]That is not a serious post[/sp] This bloody sucks, when the US goes into debt. Everyone feels it. Companies, the smaller companies. Everyone. I was hoping to try to get a job or something... But now, it's going to be even harder with cutbacks from everyone, and wanting to keep the more 'experienced' people.
[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;38982347]Don't have a job right now, graduating in June, and planned to go into the Airforce after a 3 month period to make sure everything is where it needs to be (and I hear a shitload of people are enlisting now). Was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with scholarships since I knew I wanted to go in (flawless logic). Guess it'd be a good idea for me to start looking around now. This does not bode well for me.[/QUOTE] Start talking to a recruiter now, you might not get in for months. Took me four months before I was able to go to MEPS and get my ASVAB/physical/job situation sorted out. Then you would be in the delayed entry program if you qualify, making you wait until basic training.
Well looks like that house on wheels I want will have to be made from hand cut trees.
Looks like I'm not getting paid again.
[I]The mayans were right, but were two weeks off[/I]
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.