If you’re ready to gouge your eyes and plug your ears because of the “looooming” Fiscal Cliff, Brace Yo’self! because shit is about to get worse.
I’m confident that the elephants and donkeys running this country will soon agree to a mutually-acceptable solution. Maybe “solution” is the wrong word?
They will have a deal, a short-term one, but a deal nonetheless. I don’t know if they will shake hands on Dec. 30, Dec. 31st -or- if it will stretch to early February. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter.
Because the Fiscal Cliff isn’t a “cliff” at all.
It’s a SERIES of tax hikes and spending cuts. Not all of the deficit reduction will occur at the stroke of midnight, December 31st. It’s more of a rolling hill, if anything.
It turns out that Ben Bernanke doesn’t only struggle with monetary policy, but also with metaphors.
The Debt Ceiling
I need you to think back to the last time you heard about The Debt Ceiling. Ahhh – it feels like it was just yesterday. That was about the time I (and my fellow Americans) lost faith in our elected officials.
Well…it’s back.
The United States is set to hit the Debt Ceiling on Monday (12/31/12). If you’re worried about The Fiscal Cliff, you should be pooping your pants about the Debt Ceiling. Even though we’re set to hit it Monday, the Treasury Department has taken measures to delay it a month or two. If the Debt Ceiling isn’t raised for the 74th time since 1962, the US Government will default on it’s debts for the first time in history.
I wish I were kidding about the 74 figure. Ronald Reagan, alone, raised the Debt Ceiling 18 times.
Another funny thing…
The power to raise the debt ceiling falls in the hands of Congress. But a few weeks ago, President Obama asked for unlimited authority to raise the country’s debt limit, without the approval from Congress.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!
That sounds like something I would say after one too many tequila shots.
