Post AVsrCyRUh3nUi6WZpw by not2b@sfba.social
(DIR) More posts by not2b@sfba.social
(DIR) Post #AVsqXqigVANmsyxIbQ by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-05-21T15:20:25Z
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This is crazy. Biden say he can't invoke the 14th amendment because now there isn't time to litigate it. Well, whose fault is that? Who trusted the fascist GOP and their terrorist hostage tactics? What should happen now is that actions to use the 14th should start IMMEDIATELY, and get the clock going on litigation. Don't waste more goddamn time with those Republican monsters who WANT to sink ordinary people to make the rich even richer, like they did when Trump was President! // Biden delivers grim debt ceiling warning while sharply criticizing Republicans // https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/21/politics/debt-ceiling-talks-biden-mccarthy/index.html
(DIR) Post #AVsrCyRUh3nUi6WZpw by not2b@sfba.social
2023-05-21T15:28:07Z
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@lauren A Nixon-era law forbids the present from withholding any spending that Congress has appropriated. It he talking about violating that one without litigating it? Once borrowing authority runs out he has no legal course of action: debt limit says he can't borrow to make payments, the empoundment act says he must make payments, and the 14th says he can't default on debt. The only way to break this conflict is to obey those laws that don't destroy the world economy.
(DIR) Post #AVsrTIDevo2kgFpom0 by crashglasshouses@tsukihi.me
2023-05-21T15:31:06Z
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@lauren you say this as if it were an accident somehow. :bunnethink:
(DIR) Post #AVsrXtz0T8G6xdB9do by DarcMoughty@infosec.exchange
2023-05-21T15:31:47Z
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@lauren ehh, part of me thinks that the center and right will be able to use this as a way to get entitlement reform without taking the blame for it. I'll bet $50 they'll cut Social Security, Medicare reimbursement, and lay-off a bunch of federal employees instead of defaulting on bonds.
(DIR) Post #AVss3LJGuzWygseMJk by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-05-21T15:37:38Z
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@DarcMoughty Social Security is still the third rail. Touching it in such a way is lethal. There may be practical ways to adjust Medicare reimbursement -- some has already taken place like drug price negotiations. But any attempt to reduce social security is suicidal.
(DIR) Post #AVsz8lUbhKVR1RU6Ou by jstritch@mindly.social
2023-05-21T16:57:02Z
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@lauren I am not a lawyer. As a citizen, I expect the sequence to be:1) the treasury runs out of money,2) the President orders Treasury to pay the bills per the 14th amendment, and3) any litigation starts.What is the reason litigation would be first?Where did this idea originate, MAGA?
(DIR) Post #AVszz0IXtePnzzkhmq by DarcMoughty@infosec.exchange
2023-05-21T17:06:27Z
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@lauren I think the Republicans would enjoy the urban Social Security Riots, and frame it as, "Joe Biden likes the Great Reset and Solar Panels so much, he broke Social Security."
(DIR) Post #AVt0GQvY8xKdViJ6WW by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-05-21T17:09:40Z
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@DarcMoughty Their rural areas are even more dependent on the benefit programs than urban areas, which often have their own programs to help. My guess is McCarthy and him cronies hoped to just ram something through a weak Biden, and that's looking harder to do now because it took too long and pressure to hold fast built in on the Democratic side.
(DIR) Post #AVtRm1hMB1znIFxRGS by ATyj8GNyvVJIXkGeLA.lori@cambrian.social
2023-05-21T22:02:20Z
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If Social Security and Medicare are the only things the Democrats are willing to go to the mat for, there is still a huge assertiveness asymmetry. I don't know whether it's* because they fear donors more than they do voters, or* because they actually believe neoclassical economics to be an accurate model of how the world works and can work, or* because their real function is as some kind of controlled opposition, or* some other explanation.One thing one never ever gets from a candidate is candor.
(DIR) Post #AVtRm2VLBByhnHLMAq by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-05-21T22:17:29Z
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@lori @DarcMoughty The primary reason social security is up at the top is that a significant number of recipients literally live hand to mouth for those payments. A single disruption can cause them to lose their domiciles and be unable to eat. Not exactly rocket science. Obviously there are political concerns too, but there are real people out there who depend on social security. On the other hand, credits for green energy power lines are important in the long run, but certainly not in the short run.
(DIR) Post #AVto4s3QSITnsPffns by DarcMoughty@infosec.exchange
2023-05-22T02:27:39Z
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@lauren @lori oh, I know. I spend several hours a week and a bunch of money to keep a loved one on Social Security out of street-wandering homelessness.I'm just saying that we're dealing with the 'storm the capital and kill the enemy' crowd, and I think they have a LOT of sway in terms of owning the frame on messaging to those people. I think not extending the debt limit is a PR, political, and strategic win for Republicans, even if it screws their constituency over.
(DIR) Post #AVtp4Kx9cmtPAZ2ycy by DarcMoughty@infosec.exchange
2023-05-22T02:38:54Z
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@lauren @lori Just imagine the PR nightmare of right-wing talk radio and cable news repeating over and over that, "Joe Biden cared so much about solar panels, electric vehicles, and boob jobs for teenage boys that he chose them over your social security."That's the angle the other side will play.