US Senate backs $800 bln debt limit increase

[juliagoolia]

US Senate backs $800 bln debt limit increase
Wed Nov 17, 2004 06:34 PM ET
WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to raise the nation's public debt ceiling by $800 billion, the third increase in three years, taking the new limit to $8.184 trillion.
The Senate voted 52-44, largely on party lines, to support the rise, which Democrats say is necessary because of President George W. Bush' fiscal policies. The House of Representatives must also approve the measure and is expected to do so shortly, possibly on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=6846348 thats all.. no more

Bastards!

[rooboy]

1. Dear Mr Bush

we are happy to inform you that the $800 billion increase on your credit card limit has been approved.

Don't forget to take advantage of our frequent flyer miles program, which gives you one point for every mile a terrorist suspect is transported to a tinpot dictatorship for torture.

Yours sincerely,
Bill Zebub

American Express Worldwide Relations

[NewInNewJ.]

2. Just Think

How this would have gone over in the Clinton Administration!The Nation has gone nuts!

[high density]

4. Great point

But we need to do whatever we can to build up our military complex and give more welfare payments to Halliburton. :crazy:

[ogradda]

3. well hell they've already spent all our money

might as well spend the world's too!

[JPace]

5. The birth tax is somewhere between $17,000 and $25,000

per baby when it is born. They have a lot of reason to
be crying hard. Spending our children and grandchildrens
future.....oink oink oink!

[jean]

6. what do we call the debt ceiling so we can talk to our willfully ignorant

co-workers, friends and relatives about it, without having their eyes glaze over? Can we come up with a simple little story (that willfull ignorami can 'get') to explain what was done today?

I know Kerry said it's a birth tax...ala George Lakoff (who actually suggested calling the debt a baby tax...)

Is bush the credit card cowboy (and it's not his credit card - it's ours, our kids and grandkids account!) and can MoveOn resume airing that great ad with the little kids working at menial labor jobs to pay off bush debt?

[coreystone]

7. Secretary of Treasury Snow delayed this until after the elections...

by borrowing from a government retirement fund. To be more precise: the "G Fund"! This is part of the Thrift Savings Fund(TSP http://www.tsp.gov/ ; a retirement program for Federal workers similar to a 401(k).

I had posted several threads to let DU members know about the political motivations of this a month ago. Nobody seemed to care then. OH! WELL! :-) What one sees is what they get!

The "raising" of the "debt ceiling" was circumvented until after November 2, 2004. It was also done in 1989 and 1996. THIS time it was effected by Snow to not allow the American people to receive negative information pertaining to this country's financial status.

I work for the government, and, I have "moved" the funds which were invested in the "G Fund" to other investment options within the TSP program.


There are many links, but I refer you to this one:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/10/15/BUG9K99OQ11.DTL

[NYC]

13. Thank you.

I appreciated your information.

[Deja Q]

8. Cought between dense places and boulders, can't go either way without...

condemning.

To not increase the cap would cripple the economy.

To increase the cap will scare the rest of the world into dropping us like a hot potato. Pulling out investments, not trading with us. Ultimately, you guessed it, the economy is going to go down.

And the Dems chirping up about *'s spending will ultimately be turned against them come future elections, the American public won't be bothered to think either. Grand.

[coreystone]

9. We all may be burdened by THAT price! .....

I don't know very much about the investment community; practices or good advice, but, there may be some retirement options in the "private sector" which have been affected this also.

???

[Carla in Ca]

10. Republicans spending like drunken sailors

From Salon's War Room:<http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html>


snip....

And if you think we're in deep debt doo-doo now, just wait for President Bush's second term agenda to kick in: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that his proposed 2005 budget would nearly double our current debt to about $14.5 trillion by 2014. As the Progress Report points out today, this is a far cry from what Bush said in his 2002 State of the Union address: "Our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short term." If only.

[coreystone]

11. ""One Thing Leads To Another" - The Fixx.....1983...

Not necessarily political in the interpretation of that time, but, could be construed to be relevant, but, certainly, in a very different light.

"The deception with tact, just what are you trying to say?
You've got a blank face, which irritates
Communicate, pull out your party piece
You see dimensions in two
State your case with black or white
But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth
You run for cover so discreet, why don't they:

Do what they say, say what you mean
One thing leads to another
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long
But then one thing leads to another. "

:-)

"party piece" - strange, very strange!

:-)

[Carla in Ca]

12. Very appropriate

n/t

[struggle4progress]

14. kick for squandering our future

:kick: