Republicans "have threatened to use the debt ceiling as leverage to demand spending cuts"

[Miles Archer]

This was actually a campaign promise from Republicans during the midterms. While Social Security and Medicare are NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED in this article, we already KNOW both programs were part of this rhetoric last year. They're not talking about the Paul Ryan Tax Cuts For Millionaires that added $1.6 trillion to the deficit. They are talking about extortion, about forcing Democrats to sign on the dotted line for SS / Medicare cuts.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday he believes Democrats would agree to cap government spending to avoid a U.S. debt default and he wants to discuss the idea with President Joe Biden.

Republicans now in control of the House have threatened to use the debt ceiling as leverage to demand spending cuts from Biden's Democrats, who control the U.S. Senate.

This has raised concerns in Washington and on Wall Street about a bruising fight that could be at least as disruptive as the protracted battle of 2011, which prompted a brief downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and years of forced domestic and military spending cuts.

"I want to sit down with him now so there is no problem," McCarthy said in an interview with Fox News, referring to Biden. "I'm sure he knows there's places that we can change that put America on a trajectory that we save these entitlements instead of putting it into bankruptcy the way they have been spending."

https://nordot.app/987364699492548608?c=592622757532812385

[KS Toronado]

1. OK repugs, let's cut all military spending in half

that make you happy? They eat up most of our tax money to begin with. SS is our money out of our pockets,
all you want to do is reduce what employers kick in toward our retirement.

[Igel]

6. SS is segregated funds.

Alter military spending, it has no effect on SS funding.

Keep this in mind:

We have two kinds of funding, discretionary and non-discretionary.

Most reports deal with discretionary. About half of discretionary spending is military.

Over half oftotal spending is non-discretionary. Military is far less than 25% of US spending. Largest aliquot is for health (Medicare/Medicare). #2 is SS. #3 most years (recently) is education.

Military is #4. You're asserting that less than 1/4 > 1/2. Please, don't. My 1/8 tank of gasoline isn't > a half tank, no matter what I'm told say.

Military does *not* eat up "most of our tax money to begin with". It eats up < 25%. Most US easy spending is non-military and out of easy democratic Congressional control--the government set the spending amount, the algorithms for increases year after year are law, and no Congress has easy democratic majorities able to change them. Distinguish between easy democratic "discretionary" and "non-discretionary." Otherwise, I speak English and you speak Elamite.

[KS Toronado]

7. So you prove my point "About half of discretionary spending is military."

are you aware of the difference in payroll deductions for SS and those for taxes? Gov owns only one.

[imaginary girl]

2. Sure, let's just reverse the Trump tax cuts! Nt

[Scrivener7]

3. They always do that. Are we surprised? The real question is, do we have a plan

of how to deal with this, given that it's the ten millionth time they've done it?

My hope is that they loudly proclaim, "please proceed," and then go on EVERY network show, grant interviews to every reputable net news source, have a coordinated message like republiQans have coordinated messages, and tell the world that the Rs goal is to cut Social Security and Medicare, and give more tax breaks to billionaires and they are shutting down the government like spoiled children.

[ananda]

4. So let em shut it down!

don't negotiate with terrorists....

[HUAJIAO]

5. McCarthy is full of shit.