Stock trading ban is not going to pass. Personal financial gain is one of the main perks of elected office. They're not giving that up without a huge fight. Ask Rep. Tim Burchett what he thinks. He'll tell you he came to Washington for that very reason.
Heather Cox Richardson notes the historic backstory of Congressional budget authorizations.
"Behind [the CR] is a potential nightmare scenario. MAGA Republicans have already threatened to refuse to fund the government unless President Joe Biden and the Democrats reverse all their policies. If Republicans take control of either the House or the Senate—or both—in the midterms, they have the potential to throw the government into default, something that has never happened before."
That potential is there right now. Republicans in the Senate could block everything if they held fast with the filibuster. The GOP has never had the guts to make actual budget cuts, so I'll believe it when I see it.
Right. Balancing the budget is so far beyond possible it’s not funny. Personally, I don’t understand how the US government hasn’t already defaulted. Is the world too nervous about what would happen? Or am I just being overly pessimistic? I’m kind of joking. But it’s something I do wonder about.
I think most people have the same questions. I'm not an economist but I have thought about two possible reasons.
First, as long as the US dollar remains strong among the world's various currencies we can get away with a multitude of economic sins. That's the benefit of "printing more money" as it were.
Second, that phrase "balanced budget" has multiple meanings depending on the context. Ordinary household and business budgeting depends on keeping budgets balanced because of the threat of bankruptcy. But further up the chain big companies (particularly the so-called "non-profits") can simply "write off" losses as a journal entry in the accounting department. Most companies do that routinely for uncollected debts and other unexpected losses, not to mention the accounting benefits of depreciation. Neither of those two features is available for ordinary folks unless they have a pretty big nest egg.
Finally, in times of financial crises that threaten the overall budget (I'm remembering about the banking mess of 2008) the solution is simply privatizing the losses (ordinary people get stuck) by socializing the remedy (saving the banking sector).
Stock trading ban is not going to pass. Personal financial gain is one of the main perks of elected office. They're not giving that up without a huge fight. Ask Rep. Tim Burchett what he thinks. He'll tell you he came to Washington for that very reason.
Heather Cox Richardson notes the historic backstory of Congressional budget authorizations.
"Behind [the CR] is a potential nightmare scenario. MAGA Republicans have already threatened to refuse to fund the government unless President Joe Biden and the Democrats reverse all their policies. If Republicans take control of either the House or the Senate—or both—in the midterms, they have the potential to throw the government into default, something that has never happened before."
https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/pfbid02k4mThtCWesptqE2RAfiS1LRtRZPwRzEUv7o14hd91WJYTML69XYdpyrvsRP9EFTkl
That potential is there right now. Republicans in the Senate could block everything if they held fast with the filibuster. The GOP has never had the guts to make actual budget cuts, so I'll believe it when I see it.
Agreed. Talking about budget cuts is only done when either party is trying to get the majority back. Once they have it all serious talk of cuts ends.
If you cut every penny of spending outside the military, you still won't balance the budget, unless you dig into Social Security and Medicare
Right. Balancing the budget is so far beyond possible it’s not funny. Personally, I don’t understand how the US government hasn’t already defaulted. Is the world too nervous about what would happen? Or am I just being overly pessimistic? I’m kind of joking. But it’s something I do wonder about.
I think most people have the same questions. I'm not an economist but I have thought about two possible reasons.
First, as long as the US dollar remains strong among the world's various currencies we can get away with a multitude of economic sins. That's the benefit of "printing more money" as it were.
Second, that phrase "balanced budget" has multiple meanings depending on the context. Ordinary household and business budgeting depends on keeping budgets balanced because of the threat of bankruptcy. But further up the chain big companies (particularly the so-called "non-profits") can simply "write off" losses as a journal entry in the accounting department. Most companies do that routinely for uncollected debts and other unexpected losses, not to mention the accounting benefits of depreciation. Neither of those two features is available for ordinary folks unless they have a pretty big nest egg.
Finally, in times of financial crises that threaten the overall budget (I'm remembering about the banking mess of 2008) the solution is simply privatizing the losses (ordinary people get stuck) by socializing the remedy (saving the banking sector).