Sedona AZ (June 10, 2012) – In a SedonaEye.com Letter to the Editor, a Prescott Arizona resident equates challenging the debt limit to a terrorist act:
Last year the Congressional Republicans used the nation’s debt ceiling vote to force a series of spending cuts. This hostage scenario led to the nation’s first ever credit downgrade and the Standard & Poor’s agency repeatedly cited the GOP’s intransigence on revenue as a key justification. Speaker of the House John Boehner has indicated that the GOP is ready to re-enact the debt ceiling debacle the next time the nation comes close to its borrowing limit.
Looking back on what happened, Boehner’s antics affected the economy in a very negative way. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) began falling upon his announcement and it went into freefall as the political stalemate worsened over the next eight weeks. During this period ,the consumer confidence declined more than it did following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings in 2008. It took almost a year to slowly bring the CCI back. Now Boehner wants to do it again, forcing additional cuts.
It looks like a plot considering that (Mitt) Romney, during an interview with Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin, admitted that drastic spending cuts now would throw the economy into a recession or a depression. Key economists and the Democrats have been saying that for years and the UK’s current recession is a perfect example of what spending cuts and austerity will do to an economy during an economic recovery.
So Boehner holds the President hostage on the debt ceiling debacle to force spending cuts, and the economy tanks. It is obvious, Boehner and the Republicans will do anything to make President Obama look bad including letting our economy fail. Some have called this an act of economic sabotage but I call it an act of financial terrorism.
Bob Lynne Prescott, AZ
For the best Sedona Arizona News and Views? Subscribe to SedonaEye.com.
There is so much waste in government that if the beauracrats were serious, they could cut trillions out of the budget without ever having to increase the debt ceiling. All the Dems know how to do is spend other people’s hard earned money………….they continually piss it away with no accountability.
Yes, Dale, it must be wonderful to be part of the 1%. All the Republicans know is how to get us into WAR and completely break our economy!
Lynne’s letter is just a typical election year campaign letter with all the trimmings: 1) support for his good guys- Obama and the Democrats, 2) attacks on the bad guys- Boehner and the Republicans and 3) questionable and bogus references like “Key economists and Democrats…”.
Ordinarily, as an Independent, I won’t dignify this letter with a comment but he goes over the top when he accuses the opposition (but patriotic fellow Americans) as saboteurs and terrorists.
Lynne is of course entitled to his opinions but not to some of his facts. Boehner did humbly go to the WH to negotiate. He left the WH comforted in the thought that he had a “deal” with the big man by laying his political life on the line in agreeing to a $400,000,000,000 tax increase. The following day he had a rude awakening because Obama had moved the goalpost and was now asking for an $800,000,000,000 tax increase.
Only my untutored opinion– Obama did not have any intention of negotiating in good faith. Do spin the truth if you must. We have learned to live and see through it but please cut out the vituperative name calling.