Yep. It’s like the floodgates have opened and the lands below are flooding and the republicans are cheering themselves and expect applause because they are saying it’s not going to increase. It pains me to say but I think this country is done and is on its way to becoming the next Venezuela, Argentina or Zimbabwe. Probably not in my lifetime, if I’m lucky, but it’s coming.
Well, the agreement was struck but it hasn't been passed by congress. I found this tidbit interesting... "Another issue left on the cutting room floor: student loans. Republicans had initially aimed to use the debt ceiling debt to cancel Biden's effort to forgive debt. But the GOP ended up backing down, knowing that there is ongoing litigation that could lead the Supreme Court to cancel the effort in the months ahead anyway. McCarthy signaled early in the negotiations he would be willing to let that be an issue decided in the courts."
I think they are. “In the past decade, approximately 7,000-8,000 new cases are filed in the Supreme Court each year. Plenary review, with oral arguments by attorneys, is granted in about 80 of those cases, and the Court typically disposes of about 100 or more cases without plenary review — fewer than 3% of the total.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_U.S._Supreme_Court_cases_decided_by_year That’s how our rights, our freedom, get nibbled away slowly but surely because only the most egregious cases make it all the way to the SCOTUS. Meanwhile the termites are still busy eating away at the foundations of our country.
Yup. Congress is derelict in its duty. The worse part is that this furthers the public perception that the court is there to legislate. Justice Thomas gets grief because people think he's supposed to be an activist, not an arbiter of the products of our representative legislative process. Lots of examples of each branch failing to executing its duties, with the other 2 being more than eager to fill in gaps, with the result that each one has usurped everyone else's power while divesting itself of it's own obligations. In a perfect Republic, the damage of such foreseeable Federal corruption would be contained.
Does anyone happen to know when the details of the new agreement bill will be available for the public to read , or at least hear on the evening news ?
I can give you the news: Republicans once again push Granny to the edge of the cliff, and Democrats rush in and rescue her. Hey, there's a new Chinese bear at the zoo...it's pandamonium! But seriously, raising the debt ceiling will not have any meat to it. Spending details are contained in the annual budget.
Well, hopefully, we will hear some details on tonight's evening news. But it looks like the gov't will be forced to make some cut backs on agencies that are not as critical as SSA . From what little I have been able to obtain, SSA is secure for at least another 10 years.
Ten years is when it no longer becomes self-sufficient. Then we can all go on welfare, which has no such restrictions.
In theory, that's true enough. However, long before that point, the gov't will do whatever is necessary to keep SSA afloat. I can imagine a scenario where A.) taxes on FICA will be raised, and B.) There are some new changes in age limits before retirement may begin. For example, the CURRENT age for full benefits is 65, BUT that will be raised to age 70. AND, C.) loop holes which the wealthy and corporations slip through, without paying ANY FICA taxes, will be closed.
I can imagine a scenario where the US Government will seize all retirement assets "out of fairness" and then decide what kind of stipend we each get. At that time, Social Security will go away, with the excuse "Its end was in sight, anyway."
Congress has delegated all its power to the Executive (unconstitutionally) and its decision-making authority to the Supreme Court (also unconstitutionally). I guess we just pay them to spend money and borrow it from other countries or print it out of thin air (also unconstitutional). They do nothing but cause a lot of uproar in doing that nothing.