Senate To Vote On Budget Tomorrow - Here's An Easy Way To Send A Letter To YOUR Senators

 Use Open Congress to Send YOUR Senators a Letter on H.J. Res 59 (the Budget Agreement)

I just sent a letter to my U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand about the budget that will be voted on tomorrow, in the Senate.

To send a similar letter that's already prepared use this link: Open Congress Bill H.J. Res 59 Open Congress will send a letter to YOUR Senators with just a few clicks or taps.


Here is the letter I sent, but Open Congress already has a form letter prepared and will find and send your letter to YOUR Senators.
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Dear Senators:

I am writing as your constituent in the 1st Congressional district of New York. I support H.J.Res.59 - Budget agreement bill, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.

I support Amendment 1 to H.J. Res 59, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 (as engrossed by Senate) because although it does not effect 88% of the Federal Budget it does allow our legislators to work on other issues important to the American people. Not having to worry about another shutdown for 2 years is a positive thing. Now let's get to work on Immigration, Tax Reform, Campaign Finance Reform, Jobs, Infrastructure, the Farm Bill (without taking another $39B from food stamps,) Women's Rights, implementing Dodd-Frank, Voter ID Laws, Minimum Wage/Living Wage, Income Inequality, etc., etc., etc.

Sincerely,
John A Smith
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From POPVOX:

• The budget deal is a tradeoff for both parties. For Democrats, the budget doesn't allow for an extension of emergency unemployment benefits, but it does include new revenues, in the form of various fees. For Republicans, the budget deal doesn't include entitlements, but it avoids an income tax hike, and it cuts the budget deficit further than if no deal had been reached.
• It also restores $63 billion in spending that was due to be cut by the sequester, something that will put most members of both parties at ease. While deficit hawk Republicans oppose the deal for this reason, many other Republicans had clearly become uneasy with the idea of another round of cuts across all discretionary accounts in the government, which includes defense.

 
 Please feel free to leave a comment, I answer all comments.
 
 
 

Let's Hope America Can Start Moving Forward and Stop The Nonsense

Cartoon by web.media.mit.edu

Government Open, Debt Ceiling Lifted, Can We Move On To the Many Things That Have Been Neglected Now?

The fact that we got to this point, and how we got here, is not only embarrassing for the country, but it hurt the country in many ways, and very deeply. The economy lost a great deal. On October 1st Bloomberg News stated "A partial shutdown of the federal government will cost the U.S. at least $300 million a day in lost economic output at the start, according to IHS Inc. In sixteen days that would be $4.8 Billion, but it's actually worse than that because it lasted so long. I guess we need to be grateful the end of the shutdown and the threat of default is behind us but it doesn't feel like a time to celebrate. There are many families that have lost and will not be able to make back what was lost during this shutdown. Although the Federal workers may be paid for their time off, all the people, and businesses, that service them, and depend on income from tourists around our National Parks will never see the income they lost come back. For now, I guess we just have to be grateful it's over.

Graphic by www.jpayplans.com

 Time to Start Rebuilding, Dealing With All The Other Issues That Were Neglected During the Obstructions

First we need to fix the enrollment computer problems for the Affordable Care Act. We have so many things that need tending it's hard to think of what to do next; Jobs (maybe an infrastructure bill,) Immigration, Economy, Voting Rights, Equality, Climate, etc., etc.. The Congressmen/women and Senators must find a way to work together in the best interest of the people of this great country. The obstructionism and hatred has hurt this country but we shall overcome it. Perhaps we can at least start talking about some of these issues before the next round of talks about continuing resolutions and debt ceilings start again in January and February. There are many things in the works that need to be addressed like voter suppression laws in over 30 states, Women's Rights that are being attacked, and the corruption of our politicians and elections that Citizen's United has blown wide open. We'll have to hope that the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't make it ten times worse with McCutcheon v FEC. But "what can I do?" you might ask. You can gather facts from numerous sources, that's important, and then contact your Congressmen/women and Senators.

Now is an Opportune Time to Contact YOUR Representatives to tell Them How YOU Feel about the Issues that We face

Graphic by capwiz.com

 Get the Facts First!

With news cycles being almost non-existent as far as how long a news cycle actually last with cable news and the internet it is more important than ever to make sure that you rely on more than one source, and the credibility  of those sources. I think it is extremely important to listen to different sources on any issue to know I'm hearing both sides, although at times I almost get sick to my stomach and wonder why it's legal for our own politicians to knowingly go on TV or radio and lie, knowing damn well that they are lying. Once your sure you've formed an opinion from gathering facts from numerous sources e-mail, or call, your Congressmen/women, ans Senators (2) to tell them what YOU think would be better for yourself and the country. History shows that when the American people get involved and contact their representatives your voice gets louder and louder. You can make a difference. Finally, take the time to engage in conversation with your neighbors, your co-workers, your fellow Americans and have discussions on why you think a certain way. We obviously need to talk to the people who are representing us in the government, because right now all they hear is from the big money influences that only care about themselves having everything their way. The richest Americans have done extremely well since they took all the 401k's, people's equity in their homes (if they were able to keep their home at all,) basically their net worth. Middle class Americans have had stagnant wages and no growth because the 1% has all the money and the power because they control our lawmakers.

Use this link to find your Congressmen/women and how to call or e-mail them:

  http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Use this link to find your Two (2) Senators and how to call or e-mail them:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm 

Let's Get Our Country Back to The Beautiful Country That It Is

Photo by walkerreort.blogspot.com

What Will Happen If We Actually Default, and Possibly Even Before The Deadline?

Photo by money.cnn.com

 What Will Happen If We Actually Default, and Possibly Even Before The Deadline?

• Significantly increased interest costs on the national debt
• Long-term negative impacts for the U.S. economy
• Real, tangible, and costly consequences for everyday Americans
• Severe, unpredictable consequences for the U.S. and the world financial system
• Macroeconomic consequences that increase with each day the debt ceiling restrains activity
• An immense amount of unpredictable downside risk to the U.S. economy

 The Center For American Progress lists the above items as what will happen if our legislators don't lift the debt ceiling in a timely manner. Actually, we can learn from the past and realize that we may not even have to hit the deadline before damage is done. When Standard and Poor's downgraded the U. S. credit rating in August 2011it said “the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened.” An increase in the interest premium paid on the federal debt of between 0.1 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points would cost taxpayers between $120 billion and $600 billion over the next 10 years.

See the Entire Center For American Progress article at www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/report/2013/10/10/76713/what-should-we-expect-if-the-united-states-defaults-2/

 Virtually every kind of credit used by middle-class Americans—from credit cards to student, auto, and home loans—is connected to interest rates on Treasuries. Typically, the issuers of these credit products make their profits by charging an additional interest spread on top of Treasury rates, so an increase in the interest rate on Treasuries alone will drive up borrowing costs.

 Increased credit costs would have a significant direct effect on the recovery, even in the case of a very short-term default. As investors demand a larger risk premium on Treasuries, this cost will be passed through to financing costs in the housing and auto sectors. After struggling over the past few years, these sectors have recently regained steam and have begun to lead the recovery. Due in part to favorable lending conditions and pent-up demand, auto sales are on pace for their best year since 2007.

 None of these costs are trivial, especially at this fragile moment in the economic recovery. Default will carry long-lived increases in the risk premium paid on Treasury bonds, which filter through to every type of borrowing and banking done by Main Street America. Increased volatility in asset prices and decreases in consumer and business confidence as well as household wealth are harmful to an economy at any point; given the current state of the recovery, even these consequences—which are the least severe and most easily understood ones of a temporary default—will impose real, significant costs on average Americans.

 If the American economy were a typical one, a default would go something like this: Investors would get spooked, pull capital out of U.S. stocks and bonds, take losses, and move their money to safer assets in other countries. Back in the United States, interest rates would rise and asset prices and the U.S. dollar would fall. Imports would become more expensive and inflation would rise. Gross domestic product, or GDP, and employment would fall. A default would be catastrophic, but in an utterly predictable way. Over time, the fall in the value of the dollar would make U.S. manufacturing and exports more competitive, leading the economy out of a deep recession and bringing the country back to reasonable conditions after a mere lost decade or two.
 
 In part, in the conclusion of the article, Michael Madowitz an Economist at the Center for American Progress states that the United States has already been through one financial crisis, which taught us valuable lessons about the financial system. Legislators would be wise to consider those lessons now. The day-to-day U.S. economy is more reliant on a well-functioning financial system than previously thought, and there is a much clearer picture of how destabilizing financial market turmoil is to the real economy. The system is also less stable and less well understood than previously assumed—an especially important lesson for legislators who are proceeding as if they can use the U.S. economy as a bargaining chip in an unrelated, entirely political disagreement.
Political considerations aside, it is all but inconceivable that Congress would be irresponsible enough to not lift the debt ceiling. This belief is likely responsible for the lack of market movement against U.S. Treasuries so far, but the lack of movement underscores how destabilizing it could be if Congress fails to lift the debt ceiling before it affects the global financial system and American families.

It's time that you spoke up. Contact YOUR Congressmen/women and Senators and tell them to STOP playing politics and do the work that they were elected to do. We're OUT OF TIME!

Find and contact YOUR Congressmen/women by using this link where all you need is your zip code:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ At this site it is very easy to find who your Congressmen/women are AND to send them an e-mail.

Find and contact YOUR Senators (2) by using this link where all you need is your zip code:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm  At this site it is very easy to find who your Senators are AND to send them an e-mail.

Only 14 States, and Washington D. C Have Set Up Their Own Affordable Healthcare (Obamacare) Marketplace Exchanges

 Tell YOUR Congress and Senate to Obey the Law That They Swore an Oath to Uphold

Actual Pros and Cons of "The Affordable Care Act" aka "Obamacare"

 An article by bloomberg.com spells out some pros and cons of what's happening with the Affordable Care Act implementation. http://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/health-insurance-exchanges/  The Republicans attaching defunding, delaying, ans obstructing the Affordable Care Act after is was voted into law by the Congress and the Senate, and upheld by the Supreme Court is nothing more than hurting this country immensely. Shutting down the government, and probably risking the full faith and credit of the United States when the debt ceiling comes up on October 17th is wrong. With the health Exchanges opening yesterday the law is being implemented to help the 30 million Americans who couldn't afford healthcare get it. This is a good for all.

If exchanges work as intended, premiums will fall and more people will obtain insurance. If not, costs could rise, especially for younger customers. A few states started organizing their exchanges early and are predicting success; California said in May that insurers agreed to offer cheaper rates than many had predicted. But the technical hurdles are huge, some states have delayed critical functions and there is much debate over the practical fallout.

Healthcare Costs Have Been Rising at a Much Slower Rate Since The Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) Has Been Law

 Healthcare costs were rising at about 12% a year, with the Affordable Care Act being made law in 2010 costs have risen much slower, about 4% a year. Since healthcare is such a large part of the non-defense expenditures this is good. Yet there is a small, bet very well-backed faction in our Congress that is hell bent on blocking the law from being implemented. There is a tremendous amount of money being spent ti discourage young people from signing up on the exchanges, to get affordable health insurance plans because they know that for the law to work we need young people to sign up.

People Must Learn What The Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare)Does and Does NOT Do

 People need to learn what the Affordable Care Act is all about. It is discouraging when a talk show like Jimmy Kimmel Live asks people about the Affordable Care Act, and Obamacare, and many people are dead set against "Obamacare" but like the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. They are the same exact thing people! When some people are asked if they are for the Affordable Care Act, or, Obamacare many say they are against it, However, when asked about specific things in the law, they are 100% for them. For instance; when asked if young people should be able to stay on their parents health insurance plans, they say YES. When asked if insurance companies should be able to drop subscribers, after the subscribers have been paying premiums for years, just because they get sick, they say NO. When asked if insurance companies should be able to deny insurance to anyone with a pre-existing condition, they NO. When asked if the insurance companies should be forced to spend at least 85% of the money they collect for premiums on actual benefits for the insured, instead of boosting their profits and giving their shareholders bigger dividends, and their executives bigger bonuses, they say YES. Well folks, these are all things that the Affordable Care Act have ALREADY DONE!

To get real facts about "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," the actual name of the law, also known as "Obamacare," click on this link http://www.obamacarefacts.com/ .

So, what can I do? 

The Congressmen and Senators have listened to the people before when enough pressure through phone calls and e-mails were made directly to their offices. It has become less so since the Tea Party, and the money behind them, have put pressure on all of the politicians by threatening to run primary campaigns against anyone that doesn't do what they want, as evidence in things like background checks for gun purchases was an issue. Everywhere from 75% to 90% of people in districts told their representatives they were for background checks but the representatives caving to the Tea Party and the NRA voted against what the people wanted. But the people putting pressure on the representatives is still the best way to try to get the Congress and the Senate to do what we want.

Get Involved For A Better America - YOU CAN Make A Difference

 Contact YOUR Congressmen by using this link http://www.house.gov/representatives/ and your Senators by using this link http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and tell them that you are for 30 million people who can't afford health insurance getting it, and you are for all of the things mentioned above that the Affordable Care Act has already done. Tell them that you want them to stop worrying about the Tea Party running a primary election against them because YOU will vote them out if they don't start moving forward. We need jobs, we need the infrastructure improved, we need better education and much more. Tell them to stand up to the big money and do their jobs. Remind them that they took an oath to not only uphold the Constitution of the United States, but to uphold it's laws, of which "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," aka "Obamacare," is one of. Make the phone call, send the e-mail, it's really easy with the links above. It CAN make a difference.

The "Vitter Amendment" Is Total BS

 The "Vitter Amendment" Is Total BS

I'm better known for the hookers thing, but I also have this terrible amendment.

Photo by Mark Wilson, Getty Images

The Best Fiction Writers in the World Couldn't Make This Stuff Up, But the Republicans Can

  The way the exchanges work in the Affordable Care Act is that the government provides subsidies so that people who don't currently get employer-provided insurance can afford to buy it. Congressional members and their staff get employer paid health insurance! In fact members of Congress get the best health insurance available in the country. Yet we keep hearing from Tea Party members, like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking to Laura Ingraham, a right-wing radio talk show host, who are probably in need of serious psychological treatment, that the Democrats and the President are willing to give members of Congress a special congressional exemption. This, pardon my language, is TOTAL, AND COMPLETE BULLSHIT!

 Let me explain by quoting excepts from an article by Matthew Yglesias of www.slate.com, and the actual amendment. First as to the benefits of the Vitter Amendment, there are none. Absolutely NONE!  It all goes back to an amendment to the Affordable Care Act spearheaded by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. This was supposed to be a poison-pill measure that would force congressional staff to obtain their health insurance on Affordable Care Act exchanges.

 Grassley thought that the Democrats would reject this idea out of hand. But Democrats genuinely think that health insurance exchanges are a good idea and were happy to sign on to this piece of legislative trolling. Public officials are always concerned about what public services are of benefit to them. That's why sequestration's impact on air travel was addressed much more adroitly than its impact on preschool for poor kids.

Wait for it, Wait for it

 But there's a nuance here. The way most people, including congressional staffers, get health care is that their employer partially pays for it, as in the case of Congressional members and their staffers. The way the exchanges work is that the government provides subsidies so that people who don't currently get employer-provided insurance can afford to buy it. The Grassley amendment, on one reading, would create an anomalous situation where not only would congressional staff have to buy insurance on the exchanges, they'd be taking a large de facto pay cut. That's because they'd be losing a valuable perk (employer-provided insurance) and given nothing in exchange for it. That doesn't really make sense as public policy, and certainly, Grassley's intention wasn't to enact an across the board cut in congressional staff pay. He was just trolling. At any rate, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) stepped in and said they did not interpret the Grassley amendment in this way. Instead they read it as authorizing the government to redirect money currently spent on buying health insurance for congressional staff to subsidizing the purchase of insurance on Obamacare exchanges. Thus, congressional staff will participate in the exchanges and the exchange process but won't end up taking a pay cut. Somehow the conservative press convinced itself that this constituted a "special congressional exemption" from Obamacare or from the individual mandate. At this point David Vitter, whether out of stupidity, (probably out of stupidity) or what, I can't quite say, says Matthew Yglesias, took up this banner and has been actually sponsoring legislation that would overrule the OPM and force the perverse reading of the Grassley amendment onto the government.

I Warned You, The Best Fiction Writers in the World Couldn't Make this Stuff Up, But the Republicans Did!

 Bringing the Vitter amendment into the government shutdown fight serves one very important purpose for cynical Republicans. Democrats do not like the Vitter amendment (because it's dumb), and yet if the government would've shut down over a Vitter amendment dispute, that would arguably make the Democrats look bad rather than the Republicans. If GOP leaders can persuade their crazy base that this Vitter amendment fight is important, that would allow the leadership to extricate itself from the untenable situation it's currently in. That said, the problem for Republicans here is that the Vitter amendment is really dumb. It's entirely possible that if they pick the fight on these grounds, Democrats will have to cave. At which point congressional Republicans will have succeeded in cutting their staff's pay and not much else. Not anything else, in fact. The implementation of Obamacare won't be impacted at all even a tiny little bit.

 This, my followers, is how Republicans create something and then try to turn it around and make the Democrats look bad for something that they created in the first place, and in actuality will never come to fruition. You can't make this stuff up, but the Republicans can, and do.

 To read Matthews entire article on slate.com click this link. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/30/vitter_amendment_is_total_bs.html

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Health Insurance Exchanges are OPEN, The Government is CLOSED!

October 1, 2013 HAPPY TUESDAY! from a sunny, Patchogue, NY where we're going up to 70 degrees.

AWARENESS: To be happy is to become aware of oneself without fright. - WALTER BENJAMIN

INSIGHT: Sticking to your goals will pave the way to a satisfying and successful adult life.

SIGN UP FOR HEALTH INSURANCE ON HEALTHCARE.GOV TODAY. Encourage everyone that doesn't have health insurance to sign up at Healthcare.gov, especially those ages 21 to 35. https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-marketplace-in-my-state/#state=new-york

The Republicans have SHUT DOWN the GOVERNMENT!

Quinnipiac Poll: Government Shutdown to Oppose Affordable Care Act (Obamacare):
Support: 22%
Oppose: 72%

Quinnipiac Poll: Opinions of Republicans in Congress:
Approve: 17% (This is the lowest score they have EVER gotten)
Disapprove: 74%

I'd like to meet the 17% of Americans who approve paying Congressmen $170,000/yr to do little more than obstruct almost every bit of legislation including Jobs, Infrastructure, Education, Immigration, or anything that would help the country and the American people.

CNN/ORC Poll: Thoughts on Congress:
Approve: 10%
Disapprove: 87%

NBC/Kaiser Family Foundation Poll: Enthusiastic about Affordable Care Act (Obamacare):
Democrats: 44%
Independents: 18%
Republicans 5%

The Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Exchanges ARE OPEN! but the U. S. Government has been SHUT DOWN by the Republican Party. Don't believe any lies about who is at fault for the government shutting down. All that had to be done to avoid the government shutting down is that a clean bill for a Continuing Resolution (CR) had to be passed. Passing a CR has always been done and is normal, to allow the country to have money to continue operation the government, EXCEPT now because the Republicans decided they wanted to hold the country hostage by attaching a provision to defund the Affordable Care Act as part of passing a continuing resolution. That's it! plain and simple. It wasn't enough that the House Republicans spent taxpayer money voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) law more than 40 times, knowing that it would not happen, now they have shut down the government in another attempt to defund a law that has been a law for three years. The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was passed by both the House and the Senate, signed by the President, and upheld as being constitutional by the U. S. Supreme Court. This was all done in 2010. Today the health exchanges for people to sign up for healthcare open, even though the government is shut down. Yes, the 30 million Americans who could not afford healthcare insurance can sign up today to get affordable healthcare.

Government Shutdown Inevitable at Midnight Tonight?

 Passing a Continuing Resolution (CR) Simply Keeps the Government Functioning, It used to Be Normal to Pass a CR Without Holding a Law Hostage

There was a time that when the government needed to pass a continuing resolution, to keep the government funded, was just a formality. When it came to raising the debt, it too, was just a formality, but not since big money, the Koch brothers, and Citizen's United came along with the obstructionist Tea Party.

U. S. Government Shutdown at Midnight tonight Inevitable

Tonight at midnight it seems inevitable that the U. S. Government will be shut down. There is only one reason this shutdown will take place. The Republican Party is broken. Many Republicans do not want a shutdown of the government but can't convince the 45 or so Tea Party members that not holding a law (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare) hostage, and shutting down the U. S. Government is not the right thing to do. Shutting down the government is not right for their party, and more important, the American people. Republicans are concerned with only two things, they're getting wealthier, and how they can keep their elected offices by avoiding the Tea Party running someone in a primary election against them. That's how the big money and the Tea works. The Koch brothers and all the other backers threaten to run a candidate against any Republican that doesn't please them.  The House passed several things yesterday, knowing that there was no way they would pass the Senate. They do that a lot nowadays, like voting to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) no less than 40 times. Talk about a waste money. Saturday’s late-night vote on a three-month $986 billion government funding bill that would delay Obamacare for a year, House Republicans also pushed through a bill funding U.S. troops in the event of a shutdown, adopted a repeal of a tax on medical devices and approved a conscience clause postponing a government mandate that employers cover the cost of birth control in their health insurance plans.

Who gets Hurt By a Shutdown?

Yesterday, I posted a story of a young military family with three children. The soldier served one tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan.  The soldier is now serving here in the states. The wife said they got hurt when the government furloughed her husband, without pay on Fridays. They fell behind in their bills and have have yet to fully recover from that. Now, she says, she doesn't know what they're going to do as they won't have any income as of midnight tonight. Do the Republicans care, maybe some of them, but not enough to go up against the Tea Party. The Tea Party obstructionist not only want for the 30 million uninsured Americans to get healthcare, they want to take away the benefits the Affordable Care Act has already provided millions of Americans. Hundreds of thousands of  "non-essential" government employees will be furloughed without pay as of midnight tonight. If the debt ceiling is not raised by October 17th doesn't get raised things get much worse. The full faith and credit of the United States is put into jeopardy and we could, for the first time ever, default on our debt.

Holding the ACA hostage

Many people paid, whether through their employers or individually for health insurance and once they became seriously ill, were dropped by their insurance company. The insurance company would claim they had a pre-existing condition, or they would reach what the insurance company called "a lifetime limit." The Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, stopped this. The insurance companies took hugh profits for themselves, and shareholders, in dividends and bonuses. The Affordable care Act made it so that the insurance companies had to actually spend 85% of all the money they receive from premiums and use it for the insured's benefit, or return it to the insured person. This has resulted in millions of people getting rebates from the insurance companies already. The ACA also provides for parents to keep their children on their health insurance policies until they reach the age of 26. This provision immediately insured millions of young people whom didn't have health insurance to be insured.

The Tea Party does Not Allow the Word "Compromise" into their Vocabulary

The Tea Party wants to take money away from food stamps which they don't consider that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a safety net, but an "entitlement. Many people with full time jobs live below the current poverty levels, making them eligible for the SNAP program. The fact that one of the largest employers in America pays it's workers such a low wage, and offers no health insurance, that it cost taxpayers a great deal money. In California, it costs taxpayers $80 million dollars. We don't subsidize American's citizens in need, but we're subsidizing companies like Walmart by paying for their employees healthcare and assisting some with food through SNAP. Actually only about half of those families that qualify for food stamps get them. California discourages needy from signing up for food stamps.The state's participation rate is the lowest in the U.S. — only about half of those qualified get the aid — making it the envy of more-conservative states. Read more on this at: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-california-food-stamps-20130818,0,3317166.story. 

Debt Ceiling Increases by President

Ronald Reagan raised the debt ceiling 199.5% (1981-1989,) George W. Bush raised the debt ceiling 90.2% (2001-2009,) and President Obama has raised it 26.3% (2009-Present.) What's wrong with this picture? Read the "History of the Debt Ceiling and Recent Increases" in an article posted yesterday: http://medic3569.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-debt-limit-history-and-recent.html on this blog. This article uses a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO.)

Will the Full Faith and Credit of the United States, and for that Matter, the World Economy Survive a Prolonged Shutdown?

Zachery A Goldfarb of the Washington Post writes "A prolonged government shutdown — followed by a potential default on the federal debt — would have economic ripple effects far beyond Washington, upending financial markets, sending the unemployment rate higher and slowing already tepid growth, according to a wide range of economists."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/danger-to-economy-worries-experts-weighing-potential-government-shutdown-default/2013/09/29/651b7e5c-2793-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_story.html?hpid=z2

Ben White of Politico writes "If a shutdown drags on longer than a couple of weeks, pushing close to the Oct. 17 deadline for raising the debt ceiling, it could be far more damaging, possibly even driving an already slow-growing economy back into recession. Combine a shutdown with a default or near-default, and the sluggish economy would almost certainly stall out." Read more at:

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/government-shutdown-2013-economy-97541.html#ixzz2gNxns9AA 

Paul Lewis in Washington, for The Guardian, US Edition writes: "The impact of any federal shutdown would depend upon how long it lasts. Under contingency arrangements, essential services such as law enforcement, will be kept alive, although hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be placed on unpaid leave.

Social security and Medicare benefits would continue, and air traffic controllers would remain in place to ensure airports function. However museums, national parks and landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Washington Monument, would be closed. The military's 1.4 million personnel active duty would remain in post, but their paychecks would be delayed. About half of the Defense Department's civilian employees – about 800,000 people – would be furloughed, meaning they would be suspended from work without  pay.
Federal courts would continue to function as usual for around a fortnight, after which the judiciary would have to start shelving work that is not considered essential. The gridlock over the government budget could be just the prelude to an even more serious showdown expected in mid-October over the government debt ceiling."

Read More at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/29/us-government-shutdown-house-delay-obamacare?CMP=ema_565&et_cid=50962&et_rid=7955851&Linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.theguardian.com%2fworld%2f2013%2fsep%2f29%2fus-government-shutdown-house-delay-obamacare

What Can We Do?

When people get involved and food the offices of the Congressmen and Senators we can make a big difference. The "Fiscal Cliff" was averted on January 1, 2013 after President Obama called on the American people and the offices of Congressmen and Senators were flooded. President Obama is urging the American people to put pressure on their Congressmen and Senators. 

"Obama urges public pressure on Congress, Republicans" in a Capitol Hill Blue article by the Associated Press on September 21, 2013 says "President Barack Obama is appealing to the public anew to pressure Congress to stop undermining his health care law through measures that would threaten a government shutdown or a default on the government’s debts.

Read More: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/49149

When the public pressures their representatives it works. Now, more than ever we need to stick together and tell our politicians that they need to act in our best interests instead of their own. We must tell them that;

• A government shutdown is NOT acceptable.
• Holding a Law hostage to get a political argument across is not an acceptable tactic.
• They've wasted enough time and taxpayer money voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act 40 times, move on and, in fact obey the law that you took an oath to do and IMPLEMENT it. You took an oath!
• Start making progress on things like the infrastructure, jobs, education, immigration, and the many other things your getting paid to legislate. 
• If you are a House Republican and afraid the Tea Party and the Koch brothers money will run a primary election candidate against you if you choose to do the right thing by the people, DON'T WORRY! We, the people will FIRE YOUR ASS ourselves in the next election if you don't start acting resposibly.

FIND AND CONTACT YOUR SENATORS HERE:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

FIND AND CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMEN HERE:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/

TELL THEM A GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN IS UNACCEPTABLE! DO IT NOW! THE GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! THANK YOU

The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases - A Government Shutdown is NOT the Answer

Debt Ceiling Increases by Presidents - Congressional Budget Office - Photo by Thinkprogress.org

The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases

CRS Report for Congress

Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress 

This report, of which we are using excerpts was completed  by the Congressional Research Service.
 

In an effort to explain what the Debt Limit (or Ceiling) is, the history of  Debt Ceiling increases, why they are needed, and why they are normally a formality excepts of this report by the Congressional Research Service will be used.  In the chart above, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, you can see that under President George W. Bush the debt ceiling was raised by 90.2%  for the years 2001-2009. President Obama has increased the debt ceiling  26.3% from 2009 until the present. But before we get to heavily into the numbers we will talk about the history.

Why Have a Debt Limit?

The debt limit can hinder the Treasury’s ability to manage the federal government’s finances. In extreme cases, when the federal debt is very near its statutory limit, the Treasury must take unusual and extraordinary measures to meet federal obligations. While the debt limit has never caused the federal government to default on its obligations, it has at times caused great inconvenience and has added uncertainty to Treasury operations. The debt limit also provides Congress with the strings to control the federal purse, allowing Congress to assert its constitutional prerogatives to control spending. The debt limit also imposes a form of fiscal accountability that compels Congress and the President to take visible action to allow further federal borrowing when the federal government spends more than it collects in revenues. In the words of one author, the debt limit “expresses a national devotion to the idea of thrift and to economical management of the fiscal affairs of the government.” On the other hand, some budget experts have advocated elimination of the debt limit, arguing that other controls provided by the modern congressional budget process established in 1974 have superseded the debt limit, and that the limit does little to alter spending and revenue policies that determine the size of the federal deficit.

A Brief History of the Federal Debt Limit

Origins of the Federal Debt Limit

The statutory limit on federal debt began with the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917, which helped finance the United States’ entry into World War I. By allowing the Treasury to issue long-term Liberty Bonds, which were marketed to the public at large, the federal government held down its interest costs. Before World War I, Congress authorized specific loans, such as the Panama Canal loan, or allowed the Treasury to issue specific types of debt instruments, such as certificates of indebtedness, bills, notes and bonds. In other cases, Congress provided the Treasury with limited discretion to choose debt instruments. With the passage of the Second Liberty Bond Act, Congress enacted aggregate constraints on certificates of indebtedness and on bonds that allowed the Treasury greater ability to respond to changing conditions and more flexibility in financial management. Debt limit legislation in the following two decades also set separate limits for different categories of debt, such as bills, certificates, and bonds. In 1939, Congress eliminated separate limits on bonds and on other types of debt, which created. This measure gave the Treasury freer rein to manage the federal debt as it saw fit. Thus, the Treasury could issue debt instruments with maturities that would reduce interest costs and minimize financial risks stemming from future. On the other hand, although the Treasury was delegated greater independence of action, the debt limit on the eve of World War II was much closer to total federal debt than it had been at the end of World War I. For example, the 1919 Victory Liberty Bond Act (P.L. 65-328) raised the maximum allowable federal debt to $43 billion, far above the $25.5 By contrast, the debt limit in 1939 was $45 billion, only about 10% above the $40.4 billion total federal debt of that time.

World War II and After

The debt ceiling was raised to accommodate accumulating costs for World War II in each year

from 1941 through 1945, when it was set at $300 billion. After World War II ended, the debt limit was reduced to $275 billion. Because the Korean War was mostly financed by higher taxes rather than by increased debt, the limit remained at $275 billion until 1954. After 1954, the debt limit was reduced twice and increased seven times, until March 1962 when it again reached $300 billion, its level at the end of World War II. Since March 1962, Congress has enacted 74 separate measures that have altered the limit on federal debt. Most of these changes in the debt limit were, measured in percentage terms, small in comparison to changes adopted in wartime or during the Great Depression. Some recent increases in the debt limit,  however, were large in dollar terms. For instance, in May 2003, the debt limit increased by $984 billion. 

 

Summary of the Report

Total debt of the federal government can increase in two ways. First, debt increases when the government sells debt to the public to finance budget deficits and acquire the financial resources needed to meet its obligations. This increases debt held by the public. Second, debt increases when the federal government issues debt to certain government accounts, such as the Social Security, Medicare, and Transportation trust funds, in exchange for their reported surpluses. This increases debt held by government accounts. The sum of

debt held by the public and debt held by government accounts is the total federal debt. Surpluses generally reduce debt held by the public,while deficits raise it. 

 

The Debt Ceiling in the Last Decade

During the four years (FY1998-FY2001) the government ran surpluses, federal debt held by intergovernmental accounts grew by $855 billion and debt held by the public fell by almost $450 billion. Since FY2001, however, debt held by the public has grown due to persistent and substantial budget deficits. Debt held in government accounts also has grown, in large part because Social Security payroll taxes have exceeded payments of beneficiaries. Table 1 shows components of debt in current dollars and as percentages of gross domestic product (GDP).

Table 1. Components of Debt Subject to Limit, FY1996-FY2009

(in billions of current dollars and as percentage of GDP) 

To see the entire report click this link: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL31967_20100128.pdf
 

Components of Federal Debt As a Percentage of GDP, FY1940-FY2000

Figure 1. Components of Federal Debt As a Percentage of GDP, FY1940-FY2009

The report then explains how debt limit issues from 2002-2007.  The table below shows increases in the debt limit since 2000.

Table 2. Increases in the Debt Limit Since January 2000

Concluding Comments

Since the late 1950s, the federal government increased its borrowing from the public in all years,

except in FY1969 following imposition of a war surcharge and in the period FY1997-FY2001.

The persistence of federal budget deficits has required the government to issue more and more

debt to the public. The accumulation of Social Security and other trust funds, particularly after

1983 when recommendations of the Greenspan Commission were implemented, led to sustained

growth in government-held debt subject to limit. The growth in federal debt held by the public

and in intergovernmental accounts, such as trust funds, has periodically obliged Congress to raise

the debt limit. Between August 1997, when the debt limit was raised to $5,950 billion, and the beginning of

FY2002 in October 2001, federal budget surpluses reduced debt held by the public. From the end

of FY2001, the last fiscal year with a surplus, until the end of FY2008, debt held by the public

subject to limit grew by $2,484 billion. Federal debt held in intergovernmental accounts grew

steadily throughout the period, rising by $1,743 billion since the beginning of FY 2002

The Bottom Line:

Raising the Debt Ceiling Should Not Be a Bargaining Chip and Held Hostage in Lieu of a Government Shutdown

The Republican controlled House of Representatives has now voted on bills to send to the Senate that include delaying the Affordable Care Act for one year, which President Obama has already said he would allow.

Senate Democratic leadership said they will not accept this language, pushing the federal government a step closer to a government shutdown on Oct. 1. The vote was 231-192 with 2 Republicans voting against and 2 Democrats voting for the measure.

Shutting down the government is not the answer, and most Republicans know that this will hurt their party but the extremist Tea Party members have tunnel-vision and simply, don't care. Contact your Congressmen and Senators and tell them to work it out. Raising the debt ceiling does NOT give authority to spend more money, it only allows America to pay the bills it has already accrued.


To find and contact your Senators use this link: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm


To find and contact your Congressmen use this link: http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Do it now. Send an e-mail or make a call. People can get things done when they come together and make contact with their representatives.

Did Brit Hume Really Ask This Question?

 Did Brit Hume Really Ask This Question?

They believe in govt. Hate interruptions. MT“@AdamBaldwin: If a government shutdown harms the GOP, then why would Democrats be against it?”

7:40 PM - 28 Sep 2013

Photo by (get this) americansfortruth 

 

They believe in govt. Hate interruptions. MT“@AdamBaldwin: If a government shutdown harms the GOP, then why would Democrats be against it?”
— Brit Hume (@brithume) September 28, 2013

Someone please tell him that maybe it's because we don't want the country to experience all the negative things that occur when the United States Government is shut down. REALLY?! I think he needs a vacation. For real, or at least some psychological treatment.

54-44 The Senate Vote to Fund the Government with the Provision to Defund Obamacare Removed

 54-44 The Senate Vote to Fund the Government with the Provision to Defund Obamacare Removed

Recap of Events in the House and Senate the Last Few Days

Let's recap the last couple days; The House of Representatives passed a CR bill that defunded Obamacare and sent it to the Senate.

Senator Cruz made a deal with Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid to speak on the Senate floor on Wednesday, he started at 2:41pm EST and spoke for 21 hours. The speech was not really a filibuster because it was never going to stop a vote on cloture, to allow discussion of the bill passed by the house. It was touted as a fauxlibuster because it was never going to stop the vote for cloture, it was a fake filibuster. Mind you the supposed fauxlibuster was to stop a bill put forth by the Republicans in the house. 

Near the end of his little show Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) he said "A vote for cloture is a vote for Obamacare." That's right, Senator Cruz said a vote for cloture (a vote to allow discussion of the bill ) is a vote for Obamacare. So, since his speech wasn't really a filibuster the vote on cloture took place, wait for it, wait for it, it passed 100-0! Senator Cruz voted for it, therefore voting for Obamacare. You can't make this stuff up. The Republican party is so broken that no one knows how to fix it. How are we supposed to fix anything else?

The Senate held four votes today that ultimately, sent a bill back to the Congress, restoring funding for Obamacare, and hopefully addressed some of the spending issues that House Speaker John Boehner proposed where 100% of the defense cuts were removed giving the defense spending an actual increase and keeping in place the cuts to non-defense cuts through sequestration. In hopes of passing what is being called "clean bill" continuing resolution (CR) the bill is now back in the house. That leaves only leaves until Monday night at midnight for the Congress to act before a government shut down will take place.

Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have been attacking House Republicans for not passing a  a bill to defund Obamacare. After his 21-hour speech to raise money and gain even more popularity with the obstructionist Tea Party under the premise of a filibuster, which wasn't really a filibuster, Senator Cruz said "A vote for cloture is a vote for Obamacare." The result of that Senate vote was 100-0, meaning that he himself voted for cloture! Wait, What?! Still have trouble with that.

Today the Senate voted 54-44 to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government with the provision to defund Obamacare removed.. So, now it's back in the hands of the House of Representatives. We need everyone to CONTACT their Congressmen and tell them we do not want a government shutdown. It is the mission of this blog to motivate people to actually contact their representatives to put pressure on them to do the right thing. We try to do this by making it easier to do that. So, here is a link that you can use to identify who your Congressmen are and how to contact them.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Please get involved and take a moment to call, or send an e-mail to your Congressman or woman right now.

You DO NOT Want a government Shutdown if you are a Sane Human Being

Senate to Vote on Continuing Resolution or Let a Shutdown Happen - Now is the Time to Contact Your Senators!

Photo by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard.com

Use this link to get the direct phone numbers of your Senators

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Call them Now and tell them a Government Shutdown is NOT what you want!

The Money Runs Out at the End of September - Will This Inept Republican Congress Really Allow A Government Shutdown?!

Google Images

Money Runs Out at the End of September:

Tea Party members, Obstructionists, Extremists, think that if even a single nickle to fund The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare," is appropriated, then the government of the United States of America should be shut down, REALLY?! Shut the government down? Many right wing conservatives follow these idiots because their worried that the Tea Party will run someone against them in a primary election. Other Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH.) are trying to come up with something to get the obstructionist Tea Party to not close down the government. They remember how bad it was for them the last couple times they shut down the government. The House Republicans have actually taken the time, on a salary paid to them by taxpayers, to vote to repeal Obamacare forty times while doing little else but obstruct, try to appease their base, and do some fundraising for their next campaign. So, are we headed for yet another government shutdown and everything that comes with it?

In a post by the Center for American Progress "The Dirty Truth About Boehner’s ‘Clean’ Continuing Resolution" By Neera Tanden and Michael Linden http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/report/2013/09/10/73749/the-dirty-truth-about-boehners-clean-continuing-resolution/  a number of actual facts are pointed out about the proposal of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH.) He intended to press the House of Representatives, Thursday,  to pass what he calls a “clean” continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown and to give his caucus more time to force another round of deep cuts to critical programs, services, and investments.

But in fact, a continuing resolution at the levels Speaker Boehner proposed—totaling approximately $988 billion in overall discretionary funding—would already include another round of spending cuts. The speaker’s plan would have Congress endorse 100 percent of next year’s sequester spending cuts for nondefense programs and services and about 60 percent of the automatic defense spending cuts. It is easy to see why this approach would be attractive to Speaker Boehner and the Tea Party; it is much harder to understand why any progressive or centrist would support such an approach says the article. Both the Senate Budget Resolution and the president’s budget proposal reject the additional cuts that are embedded in the speaker’s plan. They both call for funding levels that are consistent with the original deal embodied by the Budget Control Act. Congress must resist unreasonable demands to make further damaging cuts to important investments in our economic future, such as education and scientific research; basic public safety protections, such as food and drug inspections and law enforcement; or services that help support struggling families. These services, programs, and investments have already suffered from enormous cuts—and we are likely to feel the ramifications for years. Yet even more cuts are embedded within Speaker Boehner’s continuing-resolution proposal. At the end of September, the spending authority that Congress gave the government for fiscal year 2013 will run out. At some point before that, Congress must pass new legislation that sets funding levels for FY 2014, which begins on October 1 of this year. If Congress does not pass such a measure before that date, the federal government will shut down, bringing serious consequences for the economy and the American people.

AP Photo

Debt ceiling drama underway

During the debate, Republicans will be trying to please their base. A Politico.com article by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan  http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/debt-ceiling-95826.html stated "House Republicans have no idea how they’re going to lift the debt ceiling this fall — top aides and lawmakers freely admit it." GOP leaders think that if they are able to lump the sequester and debt ceiling into one legislative fight, they will be able to extract some changes to entitlement programs from President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. The article goes on to say Republicans will also aim to include other items to please the base, including the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, various energy policies and revising parts of Obamacare, including the individual mandate. A senior Obama administration official said there is nothing that will compel the White House to negotiate over the debt ceiling — including the sequester. The White House doesn’t believe the Republicans will push the nation into default if they don’t get their way. Over the next 90 days, government funding runs dry, the $16 trillion-plus debt ceiling needs to lifted, and elements of both parties will launch serious efforts to soften the blow of sequester cuts. In another Politico article by David Rogers and John Bresnahan http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/house-gop-spending-bill-96393.html it is stated that "As a new stopgap spending bill takes shape in the House, President Barack Obama is paying a price for having dropped his guard in negotiations last spring over top domestic priorities.The White House caved early to pressure then from Republicans, who cut hundreds of millions from Obama’s appropriations requests to implement health care and Wall Street reforms. Those reductions were compounded by sequestration in March, and the draft CR or continuing resolution in the House extends this pattern into the first months of fiscal 2014 beginning Oct. 1." The GOP leadership is still debating how to handle the pressure from conservatives for a vote on the CR to cut off all funding for health care reform. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which plays a major role in implementing the president’s initiative, is a prime example of the squeeze on Obama.

Photo by Eric Wolfson

Democrats Torn Over Strategy For Government Shutdown Fight 

In an article by Sam Stein in Huff Post Politics he points how House Republicans will target Obamacare. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/13/democrats-government-shutdown_n_3921034.html?1379092691 "As Democrats wait to see whether and how House Republicans will target the president's health care law during ongoing budget negotiations, a fissure has developed within their own ranks over how hard to push back." Democratic officials on the Hill say the current debate is less important than those that lie ahead, pointing to the bigger battles coming in a few months time the article goes on to say. The disagreement in the Republican Party is a big one. "GOP leadership has already had to pull a bill because conservative members didn't think it sufficiently threatened the Affordable Care Act." Sam Stein explains that "Understanding the dispute requires a bit of background. The Budget Control Act of 2011 established caps on how much the government could spend during a given fiscal year. In fiscal year 2013, that number was $1.043 trillion. In fiscal year 2014, which begins in October, that number will be $1.058 trillion. But sequestration effectively reduces those spending caps. In FY 2013, it lowered the $1.043 trillion spending cap to $988 billion. For FY 2014, it is set to decrease the $1.058 trillion spending cap to $967 billion. Since sequestration is unlikely to be replaced anytime soon, spending in the coming fiscal year will likely be capped at $967 billion. But if sequestration is canceled down the road, the baselines will become important once again." The article goes on to explain clearly, what each side is looking for but the problem is that the Republican party doesn't have a clue on what they want. Since the Republicans are so far apart within there own party they don't even know what they should discuss with the Democrats or the administration.

Possible Effects of a Government Shutdown  

From an article originally posted by The Huffington Post on June 5, 2011: 

• The last shutdown cost taxpayers $800 million, including $400 million in wages to federal workers who did not report to work, according to About.com. However, during the first shutdown in 1995 800,000 non-essential workers were furloughed without pay for five days, according to AOL News.

•  A shutdown could delay social security claims and social security card issuing. Last time the government shut down 800,000 toll-free calls went unanswered, according to About.com.

• A shutdown would delay newly eligible recipients from applying, according to About.com.

• The 1995-1996 shutdown caused delays in case processing, recruitment, testing and hiring, and reportedly suspended cases involving bankruptcy and child-suport, according to About.com.

• A shutdown would result in the stoppage of many government programs involving the environment. During the last shutdown toxic waste clean-up was even suspended, according to About.com.

•  A government shutdown will cause national parks to close, turning away millions of visitors and result in a loss of revenue, according to AOL News. In addition, federally funded museums would also close as a result of the shutdown.

• If the government shuts down passport and visa applications will be delayed with a detrimental impact on the U.S. tourist and airlines industries, according to AOL News.

•  Veterans services including health and welfare programs to finance could be cut short in the event of a shut down, according to About.com.

• While the exact impact is unclear, a government shutdown could result in the delay of FHA mortgage loans that low-and-moderate-income families often depend on, according to About.com.
   The fact is that a government shutdown, along with not raising the debt ceiling, lowering America's credit rating, and the numerous irreversible things that will happen in this fragile economy, may just be the last straw that breaks the camel's back. And the scariest thing is that the only thing we have is this incompetent Congress. The same Congress that has lived up to their original goal of obstructing EVERYTHING that President Obama wants or says he agrees is good. The fact that the Tea Party, the best at obstructing any of of legislating has the Republicans totally baffled. The Republicans have no idea of how to get them to "compromise" on anything since the Tea Party doesn't allow that word into their vocabulary. All we can hope for is that some of the Republicans will see the devastation that is about to be done and stand up against the extremist that don't care if the country, or for that matter the world economy collapses and total devastation is realized.
  
  PLEASE TAKE TIME TO CONTACT BY PHONE, E-MAIL, SNAIL MAIL, OR ANY OTHER MEANS OF COMMUNICATION, YOUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS AND TELL THEM THEY SHOULD FEAR YOU AND YOUR VOTE, NOT THE OBSTRUCTIONIST TEA PARTY!