I have to concede I find some cynical amusement in the situation now facing many business leaders who were only too happy to back anti-union, tax cutting loons in the Tea Party. Now, however, these same folks are waking up to the potentially disastrous consequences of a government shut down. It's a case of be careful what you ask for. As a result, the typically unhinged GOP freshmen - including Virginia 2nd District Congressman (and multi-millionaire) Scott Rigel pictured at right who would allow the nation's military troops to go unpaid - are facing pressure from the business community and others to come back into the rational world and smell the coffee. The Washington Post has coverage on the effort to block these Tea Party extremists from working serious harm on the nation's economy. Here are some highlights:*
[T]he 87 freshmen House Republicans are facing intense pressure from administration officials and even some natural allies on why they should — indeed, why they must — vote to allow the federal government to go even deeper into debt.
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Financial industry executives, business leaders and Treasury Department officials are visiting the freshmen in their offices, briefing them in small groups and even cornering them at dinner parties. It’s all part of a behind-the-scenes campaign to school congressional newcomers in the economic stakes of Washington’s next big fiscal fight: over the debt ceiling.
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Like many in his class, Lankford [Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.)] had no prior experience in government. He was an evangelical youth-camp director before running for Congress last year as a fiscal conservative. “All of us who are private citizens study the debt and can see it from a distance,” he said. “But when you get here and you get into the facts and into the weeds, it’s worse than you ever thought.”
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Economists say failure to raise the debt ceiling would lead to cascading repercussions that would damage the United States’ creditworthiness and spark a debt crisis just as the country is recovering from the recession. Weeks of uncertainty about whether the ceiling will be raised could also cause havoc in financial markets, financial executives said.
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Industry officials said they have been warning lawmakers that a failure to act would reverberate not only through the bond markets, but across America. The government would no longer be able to pay for its commitments, such as Medicare and Social Security. The officials said they try to make clear to lawmakers that raising the debt limit does not spur new spending. Instead, it enables the government to pay off maturing debt, or spending obligations already made. And, they point out, if the nation goes into default, its borrowing costs would spike.
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“If you allow people to start to doubt whether the United States of America will meet its obligations, that would be catastrophic,” Geithner said. Bruce Josten, the Chamber of Commerce’s top government affairs executive, said he has met with dozens of lawmakers on the debt ceiling and brings charts with him. “If you’re a new member of Congress, how the hell would you know all of this?” Josten said. There is an irony in Josten personally seeking support from the politicians that the Chamber spent more than $30 million last year helping to elect.
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To me it should have been obvious to the business community that electing Kool-Aid drinking extremists was NOT a sound idea. Let's hope all of us don't pay the price of the recklessness of the Chamber of Commerce - which I pointedly do NOT belong to - and others who helped get crazies elected to Congress.
[T]he 87 freshmen House Republicans are facing intense pressure from administration officials and even some natural allies on why they should — indeed, why they must — vote to allow the federal government to go even deeper into debt.
*
Financial industry executives, business leaders and Treasury Department officials are visiting the freshmen in their offices, briefing them in small groups and even cornering them at dinner parties. It’s all part of a behind-the-scenes campaign to school congressional newcomers in the economic stakes of Washington’s next big fiscal fight: over the debt ceiling.
*
Like many in his class, Lankford [Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.)] had no prior experience in government. He was an evangelical youth-camp director before running for Congress last year as a fiscal conservative. “All of us who are private citizens study the debt and can see it from a distance,” he said. “But when you get here and you get into the facts and into the weeds, it’s worse than you ever thought.”
*
Economists say failure to raise the debt ceiling would lead to cascading repercussions that would damage the United States’ creditworthiness and spark a debt crisis just as the country is recovering from the recession. Weeks of uncertainty about whether the ceiling will be raised could also cause havoc in financial markets, financial executives said.
*
Industry officials said they have been warning lawmakers that a failure to act would reverberate not only through the bond markets, but across America. The government would no longer be able to pay for its commitments, such as Medicare and Social Security. The officials said they try to make clear to lawmakers that raising the debt limit does not spur new spending. Instead, it enables the government to pay off maturing debt, or spending obligations already made. And, they point out, if the nation goes into default, its borrowing costs would spike.
*
“If you allow people to start to doubt whether the United States of America will meet its obligations, that would be catastrophic,” Geithner said. Bruce Josten, the Chamber of Commerce’s top government affairs executive, said he has met with dozens of lawmakers on the debt ceiling and brings charts with him. “If you’re a new member of Congress, how the hell would you know all of this?” Josten said. There is an irony in Josten personally seeking support from the politicians that the Chamber spent more than $30 million last year helping to elect.
*
To me it should have been obvious to the business community that electing Kool-Aid drinking extremists was NOT a sound idea. Let's hope all of us don't pay the price of the recklessness of the Chamber of Commerce - which I pointedly do NOT belong to - and others who helped get crazies elected to Congress.
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