Debtmageddon

I've pieced together a series of articles on the debt ceiling negotiations. I will be the first to admit that this is not a labor of love for any of us, but we truly need to be involved. This is very serious. If you don't know why, start reading.

At the Hill, there is a fine article on the state of the McConnell fall back proposal where Obama solely takes responsibility for raising the debt ceiling. We get the pros and cons from the various liberal and conservative interest groups.

At the Nation, we get more in depth information on the underlying Koch connection to much of the misery that surrounds the conservative end of the equation. This is probably the meat and potatoes of the entire negotiation. It is mind blowing learning how central Koch's are to the conservative movement.

Finally at the CS Monitor, we get an up to date summation of the negotiations - where we are at now, what's gong on now, what is persistent, the obvious fault lines.

The Hill: Budget experts raise concerns over McConnell debt fallback plan

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have been negotiating a modified fallback plan that could allow President Obama to raise the debt ceiling three times unless Congress disapproves.


The idea, first floated by McConnell, would have the effect of pinning the blame for the increasing debt on Obama’s shoulders.

The Nation: ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection

Another David Koch project, Citizens for a Sound Economy—which launched the effort to repeal Glass-Steagall protections keeping banks from gambling in securities—helped fuel the fight for “free trade,” an unpopular policy in the 1980s. The North American Free Trade Agreement passed with help from CSE and its corporate allies. ALEC resolutions for state legislators have long supported such trade agreements in the face of local concerns about job losses, and today the Koch free-market fantasy is reflected in ALEC’s support for free trade pacts with Korea, Georgia, Colombia and other countries. On just about every issue taken on by Koch’s CSE, ALEC has provided legislative tools to carry them through to state legislatures, from privatizing “federal and state services and assets,” as CSE put it, to blocking common-sense caps on unlimited credit card interest rates.

CS Monitor: Debt limit crisis: what's happening today?

There aren’t any face-to-face negotiations scheduled this weekend between President Obama and Republican leaders...


For President Obama, that means he’s saying the whole thing is about his effort to protect the middle-class, as he aims to win back independent voters alienated by his health care reforms, among other policies.


Tax increases are not the answer, said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah in the Republican response to Obama’s address.


A Balanced Budget Amendment is part of the “Cut Cap and Balance” budget plan the House is scheduled to vote on next week.