I met with my financial advisor today. Her firm is one of the very

[Raven]

large brokerages which will remain nameless here. I asked her what her firm's take was on the debt ceiling crisis and she said that it was confident the ceiling would be raised. She said that the alternative would be "unthinkable." BUT, she said a few other things that made me nervous...she has cancelled vacation to be in the office through August 2nd and she and her colleagues have been summoned to a firm meeting, a manditory meeting, next Tuesday. She also said that her firm thinks that Obama is doing a pretty decent job trying to work this thing out and that congresspeople who vote against raising the limit would not be re=elected. I came away with a very mixed message.

[midnight]

1. I wonder how anyone could think this manufactured crisis

deserves all this attention.... The attention should be else where... Like releasing funds to the middle class in a Tsunami fashion...

[CoffeeCat]

7. I agree with you...

This is like watching grown men play junior-high drama games. The Republicans
are totally faking it. They're going to raise the debt ceiling. It's manufactured
theater, brought to you by a bunch of crooked politicians.

We know they're bluffing on the debt ceiling, and my guess is that they're creating
this false crisis in order to create a justification for what they really want to do.

My guess is that they want their talons sunk into the big Social programs--so some
big, drama-filled, OMG, our hair-is-on-fire, we-saved-the-world compromise will
have to be cooked up.

Republicans will concede on tax breaks for the wealthy. Democrats will agree to cut
entitlements.

What a joke. These jesters are wringing their hands about the debt/deficit and they
could solve it all by stopping these senseless, baseless wars of choice. But no--the
same neocon corporatists who want these wars are the same criminals who want Soc Sec
and Medicare/Medicaid cut.

Tax cuts for the wealthy are a big deal--but it's not the end of the world for the hedge-fund
managers and the CEOs. But think about it. The big corporations and the banks have been
pumped full of money during the past few years. The banks got their bailout billions and
they haven't spent it; the oil and energy companies have been enriched over rising gas prices
and their tax-free billions in profits. If they have to endure a couple of years with their
taxes raised to BUSH ERA LEVELS--it's not going to hurt that much. Their taxes will still be low and the billions
will still be flowing, they'll just lose some of those profits.

What a joke and what a horrible compromise. Seniors could lose everything. The
85-year old senior citizen who relies on that $850 per month, and takes a cut of
$150---will be drastically affected. The billionaire oil executive will miss
some money, without quality of life affected.

It's not a compromise. It's an assault on the middle class. But they're creating
all of this drama to convince us all that this is a fair trade off.

BALONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KittyWampus]

2. I am fairly certain the Teabaggers are going to go over a cliff and take us with them. Hope I have

to eat crow.

As for what your advisor told you- they aren't going to spread panic.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Tranaslation, yes you should be nervous

they know the TP crowd is out of control.

Thanks for that report... I think best case, they cancelled vacations since they will have a lot of trouble... and they need to plan strategy.

Company is also looking at a worst case scenario.

Incidentally one of our lovely MSNBC people mentioned IMF rescue plan today... which means it's in the oven.

[Dawson Leery]

4. Most people involved with public market investments will

be on call constantly due to the small yet REAL chance that the tea party may prevail and destroy the United State's credit rating on August 2nd.

[DFLforever]

5. Sounds like a realistic response from her

Of course they need to be prepared for the prospect of default even it it has only a remote chance of happening. The markets would crash big.

But I'm happy to hear there is talk of punishing those who do vote to default. That could cost the GOP their control of the House in 2012.

[Raven]

6. One other thing that she said was that I shouldn't make any big

changes in my portfolio until after the dust settles. This says to me that over the next few weeks, if there is no progress in DC, the market will flatten. But watch the market on Friday, Jule 29th. I think that if this mess in not well settled by then there will be a sell off. She suggested that if it looks like the worst is going to happen, I could convert to cash, watch the market crash (she said by 600+ points) and then go back in and buy low. This whole thing is just disgusting.

[JuniperLea]

10. What it says to me...

Is that people are skittish and will buy and sell the weirdest things in the weirdest ways when a real or imagined crisis looms. When the market is moved by an oddity, it's best to hold your cards tight and wait for things to settle down. Really good advice, but not for the reason you think.

[Gregorian]

8. Being in debt is immobilizing. It's like being in quicksand.

And cutting the military would further make things worse.

We're in a no win situation. High energy prices, not much of a manufacturing base, Bush debt up to our necks.

The bottom line is (aside from all out war against our debtors) we are going to slowly smolder into a less productive nation. It's the same with global warming. No one wanted to act, so biodiversity is going to be a thing of the past, and the planet is going to slowly turn into a smoldering wreckage.

All slow stuff. Just like England.

There will be highs and lows. Some will make it big. I suspect renewable energy companies will skyrocket. But American flags will still be made in China.

I'm far more pessimistic about the situation because I'm seeing it from multiple perspectives. Economics is based on much more than in or out of debt. We're on the vertical part of the exponential curve in just about every area. Fossil fuel, fish, water, population. Resources going down, demand going up. That's a candle burning on both ends.

[JuniperLea]

9. Sometimes firms have big meetings like that...

Because they know there will be a strong public reaction and their phones will ring off the hook. This is generally to create a play book so all are giving the same information and the firm looks prepared and consistent.

I see nothing ominous in this at all... just a sound business practice.

[KurtNYC]

11. of course the ceiling is going to be raised

- China asked us to raise it
- GOP already said they are bluffing, and
- McConnell laid out his preferred path to raising the ceiling