The president has said that there needs to be a deal worked out by July 22, allowing time for Congress to pass legislation relative to the debt ceiling and get it to his desk by the August 2 deadline. It is now exactly 2 weeks before that July 22 date. Expect the next two weeks to be filled with lots of "hair on fire" stories in the media.
The real negotiations will go on away from public view, while the 24/7 news cycle will have lots of time to fill with talking heads speculating. Every so often, one side or the other will launch a "trial balloon" to elicit public reaction. I believe the current Social Security angle is just such a trial balloon. Perhaps it's purpose is to arouse a strong public reaction in order to bolster the president's negotiating position. "See, the public went nuts when we floated that trial balloon. There's no way that will ever fly. It would be political suicide."
Perhaps, the president really is interested in doing something with Social Security. (Although this program has not contributed one penny to our deficit.) At any rate, the best thing you can do is let your representative and senators know how you feel.
NYSUT has provided a great resource on its website which allows you to input your ZIP code and get a listing of your elected officials at both state and national levels, including their contact information. Here is he link:
Who are my legislators?
The above link will give the legislator's office phone number. Here is a link allowing you to find their email and/or website. (Very often, the website contains a form which allows you to send comments to the legislator. Look at the website if there is no email address.) Here is the link:
Congressional email/website directory
Want to let the president know how you feel? There is a comment form on the White House website:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Tomorrow, I'll update you on some interesting information relative to the debt-ceiling debate. Here's a sample:
If he's not the richest man in the world, Warren Buffett is close to it. He got there by knowing a thing or two about money. What's his opinion on the debt-ceiling crisis?:
In May, Buffett stated at a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder's meeting that if the Congress failed to raise the debt ceiling, it would constitute "the most asinine act" in the nation's history, reports Reuters.
"We raised the debt ceiling seven times during the Bush Administration," Buffett told CNBC on Thursday. Now, the Republican-controlled Congress is "trying to use the incentive now that we're going to blow your brains out, America, in terms of your debt worthiness over time."
According to the U.S. Debt Clock, America's total public debt equals close to $14.3 trillion which, according to the CIA World Factbook, is roughly 60 percent of the annual gross domestic product.
But even with this information, Buffett is unfazed.
"We had debt at 120 percent of the GDP, far higher than this, after World War II and no one went around threatening that we're going to ruin the credit of the United States or something in order to get a better balance of debt to GDP."
You can read the entire buffet story here:
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