-By Frank Salvato
A good friend of mine, David Jeffers of The Aletheia Group, sent out a message last night almost directly after President Obama finished his speech to the American public regarding the debt ceiling. His message was titled “Obamaocchio,†and, in light of what Mr. Obama and his Administration have been telling bankers behind closed doors about this issue, appropriate.
Even as President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner take to the airwaves (as it were) to trumpet that the economic sky will fall if Congress does not reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling; to give the federal government the ability to amass more foreign debt, both Mr. Obama and Mr. Geithner – and their dispatches – have been reassuring the financial sector that they have no intention of allowing the United States government to “default†on its debt, regardless of whether Congress raises the debt ceiling or not.
A senior banking official admitted to receiving “guidance†from the Obama Administration insisting that “default is off the table.†This should be the catalyst for a great deal of anger; anger emanating from those who receive Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments, not to mention anyone whose investments have been held in limbo for all the uncertainty surrounding the debt ceiling issue.
FOX Business reports:
“In a series of phone calls, administration officials have told bankers that the administration will not allow a default to happen even if the debt cap isn’t raised by the August 2 date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the government will run out of money to pay all its bills, including obligations to bond holders…
“A senior banking official told FOX Business that administration officials have provided guidance to them that even though a default is off the table, a downgrade ‘is a real possibility for no other reason than S&P and Moody’s have to cover (themselves) since they’ve been speaking out on the debt cap so much.
“This guidance is a big reason why Wall Street has largely dismissed the possibility of default, and though the markets have been jittery amid the talk of default, they haven’t imploded as would be the case, many economists fear, if the nation missed a payment on its debt.â€
(As an aside, every American should be questioning the validity of S&P and Moody’s rating declarations, if only for the undisputable fact that they were complicit in the mortgage meltdown that triggered the economic crisis in that they gave AAA ratings to sub-prime mortgage bundlers who imploded when the “ACORN mortgage payments†came due. But I digress…)
This lends credence to each and every member of Congress and every informed citizen who has pointed out the indisputable fact that there is no possible way the United States can “default†on its debt interest payments, not to mention Social Security, Medicare, Medicare and Veteran’s Affairs payments due, as well as federal employee paychecks, including military. Those who have demonized the truth-tellers owe them a heartfelt apology.
Further, even as the TEA Party contingent among our elected officials takes on the full brunt of the Obama Machine’s demagoguery, they are readying a bill – The Full Faith & Credit Act – to the House floor. This bill would direct the president to prioritize federal payments to the nation’s creditors, Social Security recipients and soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. They do this as the Progressive Left attacks them for…oh, the gall of it all…demanding that the federal government spend within its means.
So, we have President Obama, using one of his Janus faces to take to the public airwaves to declare that should Congress not act in providing for an increase in the federal government’s ability to accrue debt, Social Security checks “may not be sent out,†and that the United States federal government would be harmed – irreparably. While out of his other Janus face he tells potential campaign contributors (read: Obama Doing Well with Wall Street Donors) not to worry about a US government default because he won’t allow it to happen.
These actions serve as proof positive that Mr. Obama, David Plouffe, Valerie Jarret and the rest of the Hyde Park, Chicago, Progressive Leftist contingent are simply – at their core beings – slimy Chicago politicians employing the “say anything to win†strategy of instituting crisis while employing fear-tactics that target our nation’s seniors and the most vulnerable among us. It is despicable and our nation deserves better.
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Frank Salvato is the managing editor for The New Media Journal . He serves at the Executive Director of the Basics Project, a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(C)(3) research and education initiative. His pieces are regularly featured in over 100 publications both nationally and internationally. He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, and is a regular guest on The Right Balance with Greg Allen on the Accent Radio Network, as well as an occasional guest on numerous radio shows coast to coast. He recently partnered in producing the first-ever symposium on the threat of radical Islamist terrorism in Washington, DC. His pieces have been recognized by the House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict. He can be contacted at oped@newmediajournal.us