What the Threat of U.S. Debt Default is Really About.
It’s nothing more than a game.
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Perhaps one of the most obvious points one could make about politics is that most of it is theatre, and the United States is certainly no exception. For politicians, particularly those who actively use their positions to make benefit themselves financially, it becomes apparent infuriatingly quickly that it’s little more than a game to them. Unless, of course, it comes down to matters that directly impact their donors.
Obviously, the nation defaulting on its debt — a topic that has dominated news cycles for the past couple of weeks as the theoretical deadline of June 1st looms closer — is one of those issues that the donors are certainly going to dictate.
So where do things supposedly stand?
Nandita Rose, Jarrett Renshaw, and David Morgan with Reuters write:
“U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy are closing in on a deal that would raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two years while capping spending on most items, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The deal, which is not final, would increase funding for discretionary spending on military and veterans while essentially holding non-defense discretionary spending at current year levels, the official said, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about internal discussions…
…The final deal would specify the total amount the government could spend on discretionary programs like housing and education, according to a person familiar with the talks, but not break that down into individual categories. The two sides are just $70 billion apart on a total figure that would be well over $1 trillion, according to another source…”
Here’s the thing…
Default was never, ever an option which for me, made the media hysteria even more amusing.
The donors were never, ever going to allow these lapdog politicians to let the nation default on its debt and pretending otherwise is a waste of time. Wall Street was never going to let them impact their bottom line and the future stability of their markets. From the very beginning, this was all about seeing how much they could get away with under the guise of preventing a default. Of course the defense contractors are going to be getting more money from this deal. Of course spending on things like housing and education could be scaled back. If they get a chance, they’ll cut Social Security and Medicare, too and we all know it.
This country has told us decade after decade where it’s priorities lie, and it’s certainly not with the people. To these politicians, your livelihoods and stability is nothing more than leverage in their games designed to benefit those at the very top. Nothing more.
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