What about The Debt Ceiling?

M. CHTAINI

07/31/11

San Francisco  / Morocco Board News--    Not only are the American people watching as powerless spectators the political battle in Washington among elected officials as to how they are going to get out of the nightmarish quagmire they put themselves in, but the whole world is watching with expectations. Among those who are worried about a probable US default are the US armed forces, carrying on a war so far away from home against a people who can be classified economically as being on the fringe of survival.

Naturally, the majority of the American people want this war finished and the US forces returning back home, but the political will to do that is not yet there in Washington.  The default threatens the pay of the US soldiers and their families.
The other threatened people are the elderly who worked hard to make this country what is and who are worried, sadly enough at their age, about their Social Security checks and their Medicare services. They are asking the politicians, “What are you thinking?” There is a long list of other threatened programs.

Overseas, it is China and the Chinese people who are worried about the value of all the dollars they have accumulated for the goods and services they sold to the United States and the Treasury Bonds they have bought with those dollars as a safe investment under the encouragement of the US Government.  Japan comes next followed by the United Kingdom and the Oil exporters. The Arab oil producing countries are worried as trade partners of the US.  They remember how billions and billions of dollars were siphoned out of the world financial system, most of them belonging to Arab oil producing countries, during the unjustified NO Weapons of Mass Destruction war compounded by the “To Big to Fail” banking scheme of Wall Street. The expensive war in Iraq allowed Iran to expand its hegemony over Iraq.  

The table below shows 20 countries and their national debt, Per Capita and % of GDP

 This list of the first 20 countries with high national debts shows that it is normal to accumulate debt. 
Why are we that concerned and why are the US citizens worried along with the Chinese, the Arabs and others?

The United States has a total 4514 billion dollars in Treasury Bills, Treasury Bonds and Notes held by the rest of the world.  The following table shows the list of the 10 major foreign holders of U.S. treasury securities:

                                                                                                (in billions of dollars)

                       May     Apr     Mar     Feb     Jan     Dec     Nov     Oct     Sep     Aug     Jul     Jun     Jun     May

Country               2011    2011    2011    2011    2011    2010    2010    2010    2010    2010    2010    2010    2010    2010

                     ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------

China, Mainland      1159.8  1152.5  1144.9  1154.1  1154.7  1160.1  1164.1  1175.3  1151.9  1136.8  1115.1  1112.1   843.7   867.7

Japan                 912.4   906.9   907.9   890.3   885.9   882.3   875.9   873.6   860.8   832.5   817.3   799.9   801.2   784.8

United Kingdom 2/     346.5   333.0   325.2   295.5   277.9   271.6   242.5   209.0   190.5   181.0   107.2    94.5   363.6   350.7

Oil Exporters 3/      229.8   221.5   222.3   218.8   215.5   211.9   204.3   207.8   215.4   211.7   209.3   210.2   216.3   228.6

Brazil                211.4   206.9   193.5   194.3   197.6   186.1   189.8   183.0   181.0   170.5   167.7   163.8   158.5   161.5

Taiwan                153.4   154.5   156.1   155.9   157.2   155.1   154.4   154.5   153.3   153.4   153.8   151.9   128.6   126.2

Carib Bnkng Ctrs 4/   148.3   138.1   154.8   169.4   166.5   168.1   158.8   146.3   157.7   172.6   164.1   178.9   165.9   166.3

Hong Kong             121.9   122.4   122.1   124.6   128.1   134.2   134.9   135.2   131.9   133.9   131.2   137.0   141.0   145.7

Russia                115.2   125.4   127.8   130.5   139.3   151.0   167.3   176.3   173.3   173.7   175.7   168.2   123.4   126.8

Switzerland           108.2   106.3   109.9   109.8   107.6   107.0   107.0   107.7   110.0   113.0   111.8   106.5   100.1    84.4

Canada                 90.7    87.7    93.3    92.9    86.5    76.7    76.7    66.1    56.5    44.9    43.0    35.9    93.7    84.8

Luxembourg             68.0    78.4    81.1    81.0    83.0    86.4    81.9    78.5    86.1    79.0    98.9    97.6    96.6    75.6

Germany                61.2    61.3    59.8    58.3    61.1    60.5    58.6    58.2    57.9    56.8    55.3    52.2    54.0    55.8

Thailand               59.8    60.7    57.1    57.6    56.5    52.0    52.2    52.7    50.4    47.3    40.8    35.7    49.3    46.3

Singapore              57.4    60.3    55.7    66.7    57.8    72.9    62.2    66.4    56.7    55.4    55.3    53.3    50.5    40.6

Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board

July 18, 2011

In an exercise of Machiavellian politics, 83 Congressmen and about 43 Senators have taken the country and its foreign creditors hostage.  This situation might lead to default, and if default occurs, the foreign creditors to the USA can cry a river for any losses they are going to incur.  If these 83 Congressmen and the 43 Senators were thinking responsibly, they would not push the USA to a default that would affect the trust that foreign countries and America’s partners have in the USA and destroy the credit rating that the USA has been enjoying.

What about minorities and the poor? Final figures about the distribution of wealth in the United States following the disastrous recession show that White citizens now hold 20 times more wealth than Blacks and Hispanics.  This is horrible for these minorities. The worst racism, which is inacceptable in any society, is economic and financial racism.  These figures suggest that economic and financial racism is alive and kicking in the United States in the 21^st century.  What a shame! President Obama got elected because the majority of the minority populations voted for him. Unfortunately, his hands are tied by the Republicans in Congress.  Not only has he become incapable of enacting policies which would improve the condition of the minorities and the middle class in general but their condition is getting worse.  As to the poor, they feel that no one cares.

Machiavellian politics again suggest that the opponents of President Obama would love to see him use the 14^th Amendment to resolve the Debt Ceiling issue. Why? So they can launch impeachment procedures against him and guess what? The Supreme Court is stacked against him. President Obama is in “Catch 22” situation. But one should not worry about him because he is extremely intelligent and will find a way out.  One thing that his opponents do not know about President Barak Hussein Obama is that he is capable and may be able to reverse the course of events in the 2012 election.  On the other hand, Republicans will do anything to win, including re-drawing the boundaries of Congressional districts to ensure a majority of Republican voters, suppressing minority and poor voters by requiring photo IDs, and dismantling unions, supported with money from big business donors who are behind this push to cut spending, reduce taxes, and eliminate regulations.  In short, they want to take the US back to pre-Franklin Delano Roosevelt, pre-World War II days. 

The middle class, the workers, the labor unions, the elderly, the young voters, the minorities and the women, the gays and lesbians and the poor may unite like never before and prevent the election of representatives who will not commit to improve their living conditions. Since these people make up the vast majority of the population, they should prevail at every election.  For the present, this new group in Congress, who is so lacking in compassion, is willing to risk the good credit of the nation for its goal to cut spending on social services for the elderly, disabled, poor and middle class. Notably, some of those who are so vocal in decrying the national debt do not pay their own debts and child support.  By protecting the rich from paying taxes, they presumably expect some compensation from the rich in return. How low can you go, Joe?    

The hope is that Joe, and the others, will realize the utter absence of morality and ethics in their positions and negotiate with willing members of the Senate and the President of the United States to put this nonsensical behavior out of politics and accept the reality that compromise is one of the most important pillars of the foundation of democracy in America. There is hope that rational people in Congress will prevail and resolve the debt ceiling issue. The next two years after August 2^nd when the debt ceiling issue is over are going to be interesting and unforgettable in the evolving story of American politics.

Add comment

While Morocco News Board encourages discussion on all subjects, including sensitive ones, the comments posted are solely the views of those submitting them. MoroccoBoard.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with the ideas, views, or opinions voiced in these comments. This is a moderated forum. Comments deemed abusive, offensive, or those containing profanity may not be published. Please Read Site's Terms of Use

To post Video, images and links please use appropriate button

Name (required)

Title

Send

Cancel

Comments (7)  

 

0 #1 COMMENT_TITLE_R E What about The Debt Ceiling? — Jason Brown 2011-07-31 05:31

Good commentary with one exception. The threat to Impeach the President for upholding the Constitution and the good faith and credit of the United States is ludicrous. He could just as credibly be impeached for not invoking the 14th Amendment if Congress fails to resolve the crisis. Sure, some House Republicans are looking for any kind of excuse to start Impeachment proceedings, but anything they put together will die in the Senate. It will be nothing more than political theater.

Quote | Report

 

 

0 #2 Appreciation Note — Mustapha Azayi 2011-07-31 07:01

This article, up there, passes as one of the best pieces written by Mostafa Chataini. The content was informative, and the tone of the narrative as well as the opinion was
pretty honest and rational. Thanks for this insightful work Sir.

Quote | Report

 

 

0 #3 Please enough with the class warfare dialogue — Mark 2011-07-31 23:06

Mr. Chtaini, your class warfare dialogue does no good for the country. The truth of the matter is that the solution lies in a balanced political approach to the problem. You've chosen to side with democratic politicians who advocate a large government that takes tax dollars of peoples' hard earned money and distributes it to those who become dependent on the government and therefore can never rise out of their poverty as a result. They become slaves of politicians merely to keep those politicians in power.
On the other side you have the "evil" republicans who govern from a philosophy of small government that allows for more freedom, less regulation, less taxes and creates an environment like up until now we have seen in the USA, an environment which has created the largest economy in history which has been an economic blessing to the whole world and which has attracted people from all over the world who want freedom and an opportunity to make a life for themselves (like you).
I would ask you to get out of you left-wing box and realize that any governmental system is bad when it is controlled and run by people who are evil. The answer to this problem is not a left or right solution (although in my opinion historically a more capitalistic and small government society has proven to be the most beneficial for its citizens), it is getting our country back to a moral foundation where people aren't only concerned with power and wealth but really care about others and help others others of the goodness of their hearts. America needs GOD!

Quote | Report

 

 

0 #4 Politics — Amine 2011-07-31 23:41

while i do understand that we need to manage our national debt, this isn't the most pressing issue in the U.S economy today. what we are seeing unfortunately is it politics at it's best.I am not saying that this issue isn't important ...far from that, i just don't think they should have created such a hoopla about it in the news etc.... in My humble opinion this debt ceiling issue could have been fixed just like any other issue that is addressed by the congress and the house.... the more pressing issues in my book are:
#1 issue is JOB Creation
#2 Issue stabilize the housing market
#3 Issue...folks need to see some returns on their investment
i mean it is very windy in my 401k account, and my house has lost value.... well the jobs nobody is safe anymore...not even the postal worker!
That something to work on Ladies and Gents of the congress!!

Quote | Report

 

 

0 #5 COMMENT_TITLE_R E What about The Debt Ceiling? — chtaini 2011-08-01 03:27

Chtaini said

@Mark

First of all, thank you for your comment. I sense that you are a hard core Republican. Great! Some of my best friends are Republicans and also Democrats. When I wrote my article, I did not write it with the intent to take sides. Let me assure you that if you read how I concluded my article which is as follows: "accept the reality that compromise is one of the most important pillars of the foundation of democracy in America. There is hope that rational people in Congress will prevail and resolve the debt ceiling issue. The next two years after August 2nd when the debt ceiling issue is over are going to be interesting and unforgettable in the evolving story of American politics.” I wholeheartedly welcome the compromise between the leadership of the two parties. We are finally going to get this debt ceiling issue behind us. Being concerned about the plight of the poor does not make one “Left Wing” or “Right wing”, nor does it make one an adept of class warfare dialogue. I do not think that Republicans are “evil’ as you called them, nor do I think that Democrats are “angels”. Both parties have their own platform, agenda and ideology, my hope is that they do not impact on the helpless poor not because they are "Lazy" or "Schemers" which they are not but because they happen to be boxed in a sad "Human Condition". I say to the Republicans and Democrats “Vive la difference”.

As to the idea of “Freedom”, freedom is God given and struggling to keep it alive is the "Human Destiny". Just like you I am happy to be in the United States and make just like you a life for myself. I would not agree more with the concluding statement of your comment which reads “and realize that any governmental system is bad when it is controlled and run by people who are evil. The answer to this problem is not a left or right solution (although in my opinion historically a more capitalistic and small government society has proven to be the most beneficial for its citizens), it is getting our country back to a moral foundation where people aren't only concerned with power and wealth but really care about others and help others of the goodness of their hearts. America needs GOD!”

I hope that this response clarifies further for you the intent of the content of my paper and gives you an insight of how I see issues. In my opinion, our thinking is not fart apart.

Quote | Report

 

 

0 #6 COMMENT_TITLE_R E What about The Debt Ceiling? — Ahmed Tijani 2011-08-01 05:41

Greed is at the center of this economico-polit ical mess. It can not be removed but it can be mitigated via policies. Set a term limit
on how many times a congressman can run for office. The shorter the limit, the less attractive the position becomes and only those
who truly have public service at heart would pursue it. Our politicians personal political ambitions are in direct competition with
with the need to serve the average citizen. This whole debt impasse is mainly due to the need to score political points rather than lets
do what's good for the people. Raising the debt limit and lowering debt should have been two separate items. In fact, the the debt limit had
to be raised period, else risk Recession 2.0. I read and read about the founding fathers of this country, I look at today's greedy incompetent
politicians, the idiots with a mic and camera whose sole purpose is to only enrich himself and can't help but feel sorry for the average
hardworking american.

Quote | Report

 

 

0 #7 Wisdom of our time — Mustapha Azayi 2011-08-01 07:11

It started to look to me that both parties and the politicians that represent them are only concerned about their own self-interests.
however, the main question that would remain hovering around the capitol building, with the debt-ceiling problematic solved or not,is
Where is the goddamn jobs after all this squandering? Of course we know by now that CEO's have only gotten richer despite the unparalleled murkiness found in this awful current economy.

Quote | Report

 

Refresh comments list
RSS feed for comments to this post

JComments