Republicans Play Chicken with U.S. Economy

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 25, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

              Playing Russian Roulette with the U.S. Economy, the Tea Party Gang in Congress have beaten House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) into submission, allowing right wing zealots to dominate the debt-ceiling debate.  Pulling the strings behind the scenes, former Nixon, Reagan and Bush-41 advisor 54-year old Grover Norquist, whose “no tax pledge” was embraced by the Tea Party fanatics, including five-term Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Virginia).  Norquist and Cantor prevent Boehner from cutting a new debt-ceiling deal with President Barack Obama.  Cantor and Norquist want no new tax revenues, despite the disproportionately low interest rates among high income earners.  Tea Party folks seek nothing short than ridding the country of Obama in the 2022 elections.  Norquist and Cantor stand on principle, refusing to permit a legitimate tax increase.

            Tea Party hopes to prevent Barack from generating new tax revenue on the richest Americans by rolling back the highest income bracket to pre-Bush-43 levels, forcing massive cuts in Medicare and Social Security.  Why moderate Republicans don’t object to Norquist’s “no tax pledge” is anyone’s guess.  Norquist is a died-in-the-wool Reagan supply-sider, believing that only tax cuts stimulate the economy and generate jobs.  Noraquist has no answer for how Regagan’s 10% across-the-board tax cuts caused the former President Jimmy Caarter’s $60 billion budget deficit to mushroom by the end of Reagan’s second term to $260 billion.  Republican members of Congress have breached their oath-of-office by betraying the U.S. economy.  Should Republicans force a government default, the economy would endure catastrophic damage, sending markets into a tailspin.

            Norquist’s Svengali-like powers over Cantor and Tea Party Republicans in Congress defy all common sense.  Unlike Norquist, elected officials took an oath to “protect, defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States,” including doing no harm to the U.S. economy.  Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned both parties that default threatened the U.S. and global economy.  “The debt limit sucks,” Cantor told House Republicans in a closed-door meeting, pushing his caucus in “allowing default and stepping into an economic unknown.” While Cantor pretends to give all options, he looks forward to damaging Obama politically by worsening the economy.  House Republicans don’t yet see the potential backlash from playing a deadly game of chicken with the U.S. economy.  Given the desperate need to fix the U.S. economy, a default would set back economic recovery for years.

             Boehner favors a temporary fix, giving Obama only six-months of breathing room before the next round to tortuous debt-ceiling negotiations.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wants to raise the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion, giving the president until 2013 before the next scheduled debt-ceiling debate.  White House officials have already threatened to veto Boehner’s quick-fix.  “The president would not take yes for an answer,” said Boehner, trying to impose his temporary solution.  House Republicans led by Cantor insist the government institute drastic cuts with no new taxes.  Their approach to the debt-ceiling crisis is not backed by any reputable economist.  Cantor wishes to defend a failed “trickle-down” theory at the expense of the U.S. economy.  If the economy were creating jobs and generating adequate tax revenue, there would be no need for today’s drastic measures.

            Differences between the Boehner and Reid plan have less to do with the actual amount of proposed debt-reduction but only the political timing.  Boehner’s plan would introduce debt-reduction during the 2012 campaign.  Reid’s plan pushes the next round of debt-ceiling talks to 2013.  “The sad truth is the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today.  That is just not going to happen,” said Boehner.  All the brinkmanship and game-playing involves the GOP’s attempt to gain some traction in an election year.  If the economy remains weak, Republicans know they have a better chance of beating Obama.  What Republicans don’t want during an election year is to watch the economy rebound from an expected draw-down in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Expected decreases in military spending should help create more jobs and stimulate the economy 

              Playing a dangerous game of chicken with the U.S. economy, House Republicans give voters second thoughts about sending “no tax” zealots into elected office.  As Greenspan pointed out, the U.S. economy is recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression.  While there’s real frustration on the street, not all of it belongs to Obama.  Watching the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other market indexes grow by over 60% since taking office, Obama deserves more credit for improving the economy.  More improvements in the stock market give publicly traded companies the cash needed to hire more workers.  When Barack’s health care reform goes into effect in 2014, it’s going to create millions of new jobs, reducing budget deficits and improving the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.  Ending both wars should also help turn the economy around.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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