Treas Sec To Boehner: U.S. Out Of Cash In 19 Days
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner informing him that the United States runs out of money November 3.
(Photo By Bill Clark/Roll Call/Pool)Lew has moved up slightly the timetable for action on raising the debt limit.
“Based on our best and most recent information, we now estimate that extraordinary measures will be exhausted no later than Tuesday, November 3,” Lew wrote.
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
19 responses to Treas Sec To Boehner: U.S. Out Of Cash In 19 Days
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mea_mark October 15th, 2015 at 12:52
If the House is so dysfunctional that they can’t do the work that is required of them to keep the government running, then we need immediate snap elections to replace all of them and start over. In the mean time we need an emergency executive order to act in a way that allows the government to borrow the money it needs to function. Dysfunction caused by representatives in the House should not be allowed to hurt America.
Robert Smithson October 15th, 2015 at 21:49
Once again you have no problem with violating the Constitution. Does that great document mean nothing to people like yourself any more. The main problem is that we simply spend too much and we are always arriving at this point.
robert October 15th, 2015 at 21:53
the constitution was violated since 2001 with congressional approval AND no budget yet 14 yrs later we need to follow what gwb wanted
is your calculator burning up yet ?
mea_mark October 16th, 2015 at 09:19
You are wrong, but that is ok. If we are really spending too much, we really should cut back on military spending, that is the biggest waste.
SteveD October 17th, 2015 at 00:38
Agree, but disagree. Where to replace the lost output? By equation for GDP, no federal government spending is waste, as all dollars get spent or invested in the (worldwide) economy. Better directed spending at the same levels or a middle class tax cut/FICA tax holiday could correctly inform (make up for) any lost output.
mea_mark October 17th, 2015 at 09:56
If I had been replying to you my comment would have been a lot more thought out and accurate. The person I am replying to should be taken into account. Simple comments for people that understand simple things and more complicated comments for people that can understand more complicated theories and concepts.
I do think though that spending can be reduced as our nation starts to rely more on energy received from the sun. We can start injecting energy itself into the system instead of cash or credit. When we can harvest the natural renewable energies provided by the sun cleanly and efficiently and distribute it more less equally to all then we will need less money or cash, the energy begins to replace it. In the future I really think energy credits will eventually replace cash. It more directly reflects what money really is, a token of our applied energy in making something of value or serving someone in a valuable way. We will need to change our thinking on what money really is and more appropriately label it to help people understand what it really is.
SteveD October 18th, 2015 at 00:00
Agreed. Resource efficiency increases are absolutely mandatory for long term sustainability (socially, economically , environmentally).
SteveD October 17th, 2015 at 00:26
The federal government spends and taxes through its monetary-fiscal authority which the US Constitution lays out specifically as a power of the legislative branch with the check and balance of a presidential veto, that can also be overridden.
The transactions involving spending are not even initiated by the Treasury but by other agencies in accordance with appropriations. The invoices are sent to Treasury and the Treasury directs the Fed to pay them. The Treasury and Fed are way down the ladder of the hierarchy in government with respect to what actually happens but in economics they are usually/wrongly treated as if at the top.
SteveD October 17th, 2015 at 00:53
Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4, should allow BHO the unilateral authority to raise or even ignore the debt ceiling. While there is no precedent for this, the resulting worldwide economic fallout from a US default would be catastrophic. FOR QUITE A WHILE. (Maybe, just what the stupid party wants?)
Ian October 17th, 2015 at 09:31
After the recent democratic debate, Bernie Sanders suggested that the US follow some of Denmark’s policies. The Republican response was that you can’t compare the US to Denmark. When talk about raising the debt ceiling comes up, the same Republicans say the US can’t do it because of what happened in Weimar and Zimbabwe. So you can compare the US to Weimar and Zimbabwe from many years ago. You cannot compare the US to Denmark today. Hmmm.
SteveD October 18th, 2015 at 00:29
Socialism in the Republican playbook is perfectly fine if geared toward the rent-seeking class. For the rest of us, not so much. The nonsense you pointed out above shows typical Stupid Party disconnect. Could even one federal representative (sadly, either party) off the top of their head, give an accurate explanation of what causes hyperinflation? Some viable research shows that running deficits at 40% of gross federal spending might lead to rising, troublesome inflation. I’m not certain, but of course the Fed always has the tools to knock it back down via interest rate adjustment.
Red Eye Robot October 15th, 2015 at 13:07
So Nov 3 the Ebt cards stop working and the obamaphones go dead?
rg9rts October 15th, 2015 at 13:14
HEY GARY!!!!!!!!! HOW’s Hangin.
tracey marie October 15th, 2015 at 13:54
wow, you really are a pos. Reagan and bush phones you asshole
rg9rts October 15th, 2015 at 13:14
Not my problem…I’m outta here
amersham46 October 15th, 2015 at 19:29
Issue all Government Agencies new Visa cards , that will get you another 30 days
Robert Smithson October 15th, 2015 at 21:46
Well then, maybe we should curtail spending. It is clear that we spend too much and have too many programs that are not the purview of the Federal government and this type of thing simply needs to stop.
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SteveD October 17th, 2015 at 00:01
Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product:
2015:Q2: 101.33026 Percent of GDP
https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/GFDEGDQ188S
Private Sector Debt Levels:
(Domestic credit to the private sector as a % of GDP)
Domestic credit to private sector refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, such as through loans, purchases of non equity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment.
US, past 4 years
2011-182.4%
2012-186.0%
2013-192.1%
2014-194.8%
Source:
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS
A growing economy requires a growing supply of dollars. With population increases and inflation, it is absolutely necessary for the money supply to grow, just to maintain any current level of GDP (productivity/economic output). (GDP=Federal Spending + Non-federal Spending + Net Exports)
ONLY deficit spending can grow the supply of dollars, meaning that these dollars can either be obtained through government spending or through private bank money (credit) creation.
The limit to federal deficit spending (actual net financial asset creation) is an inflation that cannot be cured with interest rate control. (By the way,the Fed has all the necessary tools to either prevent or control any such inflation beyond their set target rate of inflation).
The limit to non-federal deficit spending (bank credit creation) is the ability to borrow.
Robert, I have one simple question. Why is it you never mention that the private sector should curtail its spending? After all, the debt to GDP ratio for the US private sector is nearly double compared to federal government spending as a percentage of GDP! This is in fact a very troubling statistic as private debt levels can become entirely unsustainable, witness Great Recession 2007/8 and on… Funny how the federal government was able to spend, spend, spend throughout that trough and have zero possibility to become bankrupt. (Well if the clueless Republicans do not assist in raising the debt ceiling in a timely fashion, then operationally it is identical to going bankrupt (default).
Bottom line:
The federal government is not like you and me. It is Monetarily Sovereign. It creates dollars at will. Debt is not a burden. What erroneously is called “debt,” is nothing more than the total of private deposits in T-security accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank.
In a fiat currency system, taxes do not fund liabilities.
What we call ‘debt’, public or private, on one side of the ledger is the only way there can be what we call ‘SAVINGS’ on the other side.
Public deficits are not initiated to be paid back, but to serve as a component of what can be called the ‘money supply.’ Local currency public debt functions to fund savings desires and not as a loan to be repaid.