The Debt Ceiling Deadline

[Localonthe8s]

Well, aren't airline ticket prices suppose to be cheaper now since the FAA has been shut down? It's the FAA that mandates all those pesky fees and taxes onto our tickets.

[TWCToday]

Well, aren't airline ticket prices suppose to be cheaper now since the FAA has been shut down? It's the FAA that mandates all those pesky fees and taxes onto our tickets.

No because the airlines would jack the prices up to compensate

[Eric]

Well, aren't airline ticket prices suppose to be cheaper now since the FAA has been shut down? It's the FAA that mandates all those pesky fees and taxes onto our tickets.

No because the airlines would jack the prices up to compensate

And most have, but the price increase is even larger than what the taxes would have been.  Of course.

[TWCToday]

The sad thing is that we are in the dark for the most part. No one has come out and said, "If we default, this is what is going to get suspended/cut/have a spending cap." Which explains why everyone is worried at the moment.

I think they're going to try and cut the unnecessary stuff first - at least, that's what I hope - and hold on to the stuff we really need. This includes spending with defense, and systems used to keep the public safe - this includes the National Weather Service and the Food and Drug Administration.

Everyone is worried because the media is telling them the end of the world is coming. I imagine.... as usual... a last minute deal will be made

I honestly have no idea what defaulting is, nor can I ever understand any of the science behind that... yeah, you can tell how little I pay attention to politics

Pretty simple really. Not raising the debt ceiling means the US cant borrow any more money and thus we wont have enough funds to pay SOME of our bills. We still get quite a lot of money in so its not like everything is going to shut down.

[Localonthe8s]

The US Mint should just print more money out to compensate this but then the dollars value will continue to decrease.

[Mr. Rainman]

Even though the airlines are still pulling in record profits, the removal of these taxes is gonna force them to lose almost $200 million dollars in profits. If they don't wanna report a decrease in profits from the last quarter, they're gonna jack up the prices.

And printing out more money, as it was pointed out, would weaken our dollar further and contribute to inflation. Big time. Which means prices would go through the roof on everything.

[Eric]

The US Mint should just print more money out to compensate this but then the dollars value will continue to decrease.

There have been many, many examples throughout history to show that this is a terrible idea.  Besides, it doesn't matter how much cash there is in the money supply in this situation.  The government will shortly be reaching the maximum amount it is allowed to spend in debt, and unless something is done about it, the government simply won't be allowed to spend any more money.  It's just like maxing out your credit card.  You either have to renegotiate to get a higher limit, or you have to start paying off the debt before you can spend again.

[twcfan68]

I agree with Martin--the media is just trying to get attention by scaring people. The interest rates may go up and some jobs lost, but it's not going to be another Great Depression. We should've heeded George Washington's advice to not have political parties. 

I'm not a huge fan of discussing politics because someone is going to inevitably get upset. I don't think this is a bad idea of discussion, though, just as long as it's moderated and we respect other people's thoughts.

Somehow, I think civilization will continue.

[toxictwister00]

As Martin said would happen and I figured as well. A DEAL HAS BEEN REACHED BY BOTH PARTIES.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-congress-reach-debt-deal-003853348.html

[phw115wvwx]

As Martin said would happen and I figured as well. A DEAL HAS BEEN REACHED BY BOTH PARTIES.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-congress-reach-debt-deal-003853348.html

Congress still has to vote on it in both the House and the Senate today into tomorrow.  It'll probably pass, but I don't think it will so easily.

[Eric]

As Martin said would happen and I figured as well. A DEAL HAS BEEN REACHED BY BOTH PARTIES.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-congress-reach-debt-deal-003853348.html

Congress still has to vote on it in both the House and the Senate today into tomorrow.  It'll probably pass, but I don't think it will so easily.

Sadly, there are those in the Tea Party that would prefer to see the U.S. go into default.  I've never been able to figure out their "logic."  I guess they just would rather suffer any consequences rather than compromise.

[phw115wvwx]

The House of Representatives just passed the debt ceiling bill by a vote of 269-161.  It actually got more support than was anticipated.  It's expected to make it all the way now as the House was viewed as the most vulnerable hurdle for the bill's passage.  A source is provided here as proof of this news:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-passes-debt-ceiling-bill-giffords-votes/story?id=14208579

[twcclassics]

Sadly, there are those in the Tea Party that would prefer to see the U.S. go into default.  I've never been able to figure out their "logic."  I guess they just would rather suffer any consequences rather than compromise.

The reason you don't understand that logic is because what you state is what I like to call a big, fat lie. No one in the tea party wants us to go into default. Name one person who has said that. And think about it...if we did, why would be asking for deep cuts? Wouldn't spending cuts keep us farther away from defaulting? It just blows my mind that supposedly sane people can call serious spending cuts and a balanced budget "radical" ideas. And this deal that was achieved is an absolute joke. They're only cutting a couple billion dollars. That's chump change for the government. That's less than the interest we spend on our debt in a week!! Give me a break! And the cuts aren't even specified. Some stupid committee is going to figure out what to cut. And if they don't find something (which you know they won't), it'll come out of defense. And how exactly will that work with 4 wars going on?

[phw115wvwx]

The Senate has passed the debt ceiling bill by a vote of 74-26 about an hour ago, so President Obama will sign it into law in the next few hours.

[TampaMillTWC88]

It's not the best deal, but at least we avoided an economic catastrophe.