The Hostage is Free!
Debt Limit Games Are Over
For nearly
three years now, Republicans have been periodically taking the entire U.S.
economy hostage and threatening a catastrophic default on our obligations in an
attempt to extract various unpopular policy concessions and draconian cuts to
Medicare, Social Security, and other vital programs from Democrats.
After a
months-long debacle in 2011, President Obama agreed to a deal with the
Republicans that ultimately resulted in the sequester kicking in after
Republicans refused to agree to a balanced package of cuts and new revenues from
the wealthy and corporations. That 2011 showdown dealt a deep blow to our
economy just when the recovery was taking hold.
No more and
never again.
In late 2012, during yet another budget crisis
manufactured by Republicans, President Obama declared that he would never
again negotiate on the debt ceiling because Congress needs to pay the bills it
already racked up. Period. End of story.
What happened between then and now? President
Obama didn’t negotiate on the debt limit ever again and Republicans caved and
raised the debt limit twice with no significant concessions from Democrats.
Today, after a half-hearted attempt to pair a
debt limit increase with a minor policy item (that Democrats and President Obama
also support), Speaker Boehner announced that there was not enough support among
Republicans (aka the Default Caucus) to pass such a bill. Instead, he would
allow a debt limit increase with no strings attached to pass with almost
exclusively Democratic votes. The New York Times correctly called this
move a “complete capitulation” by Republicans.
The hostage is now free, forever.
Since Republicans also recently agreed to a
two-year budget deal and partial repeal of the sequester, it means that their
government shutdown games are also over for the foreseeable future.
BOTTOM LINE: The era of
careening from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis is over. Now it’s time
for Republicans to join Democrats and progressives and focus on creating greater
opportunities for all Americans by voting to raise the minimum wage, funding
early childhood education, supporting equal pay for women, and backing other
policies that will help create an economy that works for everyone, not just the
wealthy few.
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