Let it Fail

Progressive-Democrats are moving to attach a debt ceiling increase, or “temporary” waiver to the debt ceiling, to a continuing resolution that would fund the Federal government for a few more months. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) and Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D):

The legislation to avoid a government shutdown will also include a suspension of the debt limit through December 2022 to once again meet our obligations and protect the full faith and credit of the United States[.]

This proposal is both unnecessary and disingenuous. It’s unnecessary because as the Schumer Shutdown and the Obama Shutdowns both showed, the Federal government isn’t all that necessary in its present size. Indeed, some agencies and departments, forced to furlough employees due to the length of those closures, discovered that as many as 90% of their employees were unneeded, at least in those short- to mid-term periods.

The proposal is disingenuous because the debt ceiling needn’t be raised at all were Federal spending reduced to fit within existing revenue collections. The Progressive-Democrats, though, are hell-bent on passing their splendiferously wasteful multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation bill.

If the Progressive-Democrats insist on shutting down our government in favor of their out-of-control spending, let them. If their continuing resolution contains a debt ceiling raise or waiver, let the bill fail. Let a “clean” continuing resolution fail, too.

There’s an election coming up.

Update: Late last night, the House passed their version of a Continuing Resolution and debt ceiling raise bill along party lines: 220-211. Shamefully, the House Progressive-Democrat managers stripped out $1 billion that would have gone to Israel to replenish its Iron Dome system, depleted during the last terrorist rocket attacks from Gaza. Then Party voted down a resolution that would have restored the billion dollars to the bill.

That election….

Affordable Housing

People’s Republic of China style.

The PRC is cracking down on excessive debt in the country’s housing industry, or so it claims. The government also claims it wants

to lower inequality and keep housing affordable for the masses.

But it just blew up 15 high rise apartment buildings. Those were already built, their cost sunk. Those complexes could have been at the core of the Communist Chinese Party’s claim of affordable housing.

Oh, wait—nobody wanted to live there.

That’s centrally planned economics in action. And a lesson for us, were our politicians interested in learning.

Inflation

The subheadline on a recent wall Street Journal editorial claimed

Voters know how much prices are rising even if politicians don’t.

As some might expect, I have a couple things to say about that.

One thing is that politicians certainly do know prices are rising, and they know the rate of rise; they just don’t care.

The other thing is that there is a world of difference between price rise, inflation, and price level, what we actually pay.

It may be the case that price rise/inflation is abating, and to the extent it is, that’ll be useful for us consumers’ planning for our future expenses. But until price levels return to the status quo ante Wuhan Virus, we’ll still be paying those higher prices, and that still will continue damaging our pocketbooks.

More Taxing Foolishness

This time, it’s on plastics and plastic production. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, NY) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI) each have their schemes for generating a national tax on plastic production as part of their $3.5 trillion reconciliation spend- and tax-a-thon.

Such a tax would be intended to discourage plastic production and sale as part of the Progressive-Democrats’ move to eliminate carbon from our economy.

Here are some uses to which plastics are put, though, products of which Progressive-Democrats’ move would greatly increase the cost for average Americans.

  • piping
  • plumbing
  • vinyl siding
  • gutters
  • automobiles (up to 20% plastic)
  • furniture
  • toys
  • polymer implants and other medical devices
  • food and medical packaging
  • clothing
  • seals and washers
  • gears, plain bearings, valve seats
  • shatter-resistant alternative to glass
  • insulation
  • flotation devices
  • waxed cardboard containers (20% plastic)

The list goes on and on.

Progressive-Democrats truly are waging war on our economy.

Lies of the Progressive-Democrats

Another in the interminable series.  This time, it’s Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) demanding Republicans support raising the debt ceiling during this Congressional session:

We’re paying the Trump credit card with what we would do to lift the debt ceiling[.]

Not at all. What she—and her Progressive-Democrat syndicate family—want to do is raise the debt ceiling so they can borrow an additional $3.5 trillion for their reconciliation spend-a-thon.