Going through a July-or-so deadline to get the federal debt restrict elevated or the nation will probably be unable to pay its payments, and with the nationwide debt at $31 trillion and hovering, President Joe Biden is … enjoying hardball, short-term, partisan politics.
Republicans took the Home final fall all vowing to start out slowing (at the least) the ginormous development in federal spending.
They elected Kevin McCarthy speaker after he dedicated to together with spending cuts in any measure to lift the debt ceiling.
McCarthy and Biden then had what either side referred to as a productive face-to-face on Feb. 1 — just for the White Home to say no additional conferences, even with a presidential aide.
In early March, Biden launched (a month late) a proposed funds that will increase the deficit for the following two years, whereas supposedly trimming it in later years through big new tax hikes, a few of them of doubtful constitutionality.
Speaker McCarthy final week requested the president for a gathering to debate doable spending cuts, in a letter outlining choices like limiting future spending will increase as proposed by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and/or clawing again unspent COVID-relief funds.
His unstated message: I want to present my folks one thing — perhaps we are able to minimize a deal for some restraint?
Biden turned the assembly down, saying that he’ll sit down solely after the Home GOP produces a full funds.
Joe’s unstated message?
I’m not fascinated about chopping a deal, Kevin: You’re going to should spell one thing out, and I’ll in all probability denounce it as merciless and evil — extra MAGA extremism.
Once more, that is all clever-enough politics within the quick time period.
Biden can depend on many of the media to echo him in portray any GOP proposal as throwing-grandma-off-the-cliff or starving-children or no matter.
In the meantime, he will get to once more pose as the very best good friend of Joe Lunchbox.
And he figures that, when the debt restrict truly kicks in, sufficient Republicans will panic and signal on to some “clear” invoice to permit extra borrowing to pay Uncle Sam’s payments, handed primarily with Democrats’ votes.
Heck, the disaster may even result in McCarthy’s ouster, after which probably even to some deal that installs Democratic Home chief Hakeem Jeffries as speaker.
All of it is going to be credit score within the public-opinion financial institution within the runup to Biden’s 2024 re-election bid.
Factor is, this brinksmanship entails big dangers to the nation Biden’s sworn to serve.
First, climbing the restrict may show more durable than the prez figures.
Even when he “wins” ultimately, weeks of delay — with the nation at the least technically in default — would do everlasting injury to the nation’s credit score and credibility.
That might not solely improve the longer term rates of interest on federal debt, it might improve fears that America is popping unreliable — making it that a lot more durable for Washington to steer the world, and that a lot simpler for Beijing to steer.
It may additionally simply set off a recession, or deepen it if one’s already begun.
Evidently, our president doesn’t care about any of that.
So long as Republicans get the blame, it strengthens his place, proper?
Fairly unhappy that he can’t see the distinction between what’s finest for him, and what’s finest for the nation.
