Current Events > 'Please do something about the debt ceiling,' says the vice president, to you

(+) Yeah! (+)

uwnim posted...

That's fun and more useful than whatever it is we can do. If my rep contacted me and asked me to do a bit of house of representatives stuff, I'd probably agree. But contacting your rep, who probably has like 750k over people in their district asking them to do something is going to be worthless unless you are very influential in the area.

Not at all. Since many people mistakenly think that as well they have a metric where every phone call they receive gets weighted to account for an opinion by so many voters.

Your voice and your vote matters and any telling you different is lying to you.

divot1338 posted...

Not at all. Since many people mistakenly think that as well they have a metric where every phone call they receive gets weighted to account for an opinion by so many voters.

Your voice and your vote matters and any telling you different is lying to you.

Republicans control every single elected position in the county I vote in. It hasn't voted for the Democratic candidate in a presidential election since the 1930s. My vote doesn't count for shit.

It's hedging for when Biden capitulates to the MAGATs and cuts spending. We should have organized harder.

steve_madsci posted...

It's hedging for when Biden capitulates to the MAGATs and cuts spending.

It's unsustainable to spend $1.35 for every dollar that comes in. We've just been in quiet denial about that since the 70s or 80s or so.

UnholyMudcrab posted...

Republicans control every single elected position in the county I vote in. It hasn't voted for the Democratic candidate in a presidential election since the 1930s. My vote doesn't count for shit.

Then think of it as an opportunity to cancel out some dickheads vote.

It literally takes five minutes for me to vote in person.

Bass posted...

Most countries don't have to deal with this artificial crisis.

This describes America as a whole, really.
As an Australian it's baffling to me how weird the US can be about so many things.

Dark_Arbron posted...

As an Australian it's baffling to me how weird the US can be about so many things.

Australia is fiscally responsible. 'Merica is not.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australia-forecasts-annual-budget-surplus-15-years-99183939

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People are motivated by two and only two things when it comes to voting.

Being civically responsible and being a prick.

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Friend, the debt ceiling has been fucking this country over for thirty years.

divot1338 posted...

Then think of it as an opportunity to cancel out some dickheads vote.

It literally takes five minutes for me to vote in person.

Let's not pretend that's the case for everyone. Even if it's not due to voter suppression. My voting booth is a local primary school (this is in Australia, BTW) and the entire process (waking up Saturday morning -> getting home after having voted) can be anywhere from an hour to three.

I know what you were actually saying, but someone's gonna challenge that "five minute" estimate so I might as well break that ice.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/4/5/AAOFZHAAEfdl.jpg

Dark_Arbron posted...

Let's not pretend that's the case for everyone. Even if it's not due to voter suppression. My voting booth is a local primary school (this is in Australia, BTW) and the entire process (waking up Saturday morning -> getting home after having voted) can be anywhere from an hour to three.

I know what you were actually saying, but someone's gonna challenge that "five minute" estimate so I might as well break that ice.

Dark_Arbron posted...

Let's not pretend that's the case for everyone. Even if it's not due to voter suppression. My voting booth is a local primary school (this is in Australia, BTW) and the entire process (waking up Saturday morning -> getting home after having voted) can be anywhere from an hour to three.

I know what you were actually saying, but someone's gonna challenge that "five minute" estimate so I might as well break that ice.

Thats in person. I dare say you could mail in an absentee vote.

Point is its as easy as you allow it to be. And if its not easy to vote then you damn sure should vote because theyre trying to make you stop.

I wont pretend there are places in America where Republixans make it take hours

Questionmarktarius posted...

It's unsustainable to spend $1.35 for every dollar that comes in. We've just been in quiet denial about that since the 70s or 80s or so.

Great! Let's repeal Republican tax cuts

steve_madsci posted...

Great! Let's repeal Republican tax cuts

More revenue is an acceptable option, yes.
Of course, the overspending seems to be consistently 125-135% regardless of the amount revenue coming in.

Questionmarktarius posted...

More revenue is an acceptable option, yes.
Of course, the overspending seems to be consistently 125-135% regardless of the amount revenue coming in.

Then why do Republicans only want to make cuts from things that account for like 5% of the budget.

Instead of the obvious waste in programs where its not needed. Their economic proposals are as logical as their healthcare proposals.

Just dont get sick. Republicans

No if the bosss secretary is expected to pay a certain tax rate then surely her boss can pay the same.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Only one side uses the debt ceiling as a tactic.

The sooner you vote against them to force them to stop the sooner this ends.

This is a lot of drama over a statement that was essentially "this default thing is going to fuck over a bunch of people. We dont have the congress to easily resolve it, so people should raise awareness of how terrible this is and vote in a different set of representatives so that we don't have to do this again" in politicalese.

creativerealms posted...

How is she more useless. What did Pence do that she's not doing? Or Gore? Or Chaney, or Bush, or Biden?

I get it people hate her but it seems that hate is blinding people. So enlightened me. How is she worse?

Yeah, I've heard a few people within the political discussion-media sphere talk about how VPs have never really done anything noteworthy (other than Cheney because he was more like the defacto POTUS), but with the first non-white VP who is also a woman, they can't stop making articles about "how little she does", even though she's also broken a ton of ties within the Senate that never gets discussed, something Pence was also active in doing and is pretty much their only real official function other than PR, which is unofficial.

divot1338 posted...

Not at all. Since many people mistakenly think that as well they have a metric where every phone call they receive gets weighted to account for an opinion by so many voters.

Your voice and your vote matters and any telling you different is lying to you.

As I've seen a few people astutely point out, if our votes didn't matter then Republicans wouldn't work so hard at suppressing it.

Kradek posted...

As I've seen a few people astutely point out, if our votes didn't matter then Republicans wouldn't work so hard at suppressing it.

I'd say it's not so much that votes don't "matter" it's that they're not enough on their own. At least, sometimes.

For example, voting in 2020 very much helped stymie the GOP's efforts in the march toward fascism, but just voting isn't enough to, say, purge the police force of misconduct or reinstate appropriate taxes for the rich. Because none of the choices offered to voters seem to be interested in pursuing those things.

By all means, vote. Absolutely. Just don't think it's going to solve everything.

divot1338 posted...

Then why do Republicans only want to make cuts from things that account for like 5% of the budget.

Instead of the obvious waste in programs where its not needed. Their economic proposals are as logical as their healthcare proposals.

Just dont get sick. Republicans

No if the bosss secretary is expected to pay a certain tax rate then surely her boss can pay the same.

Deficit Hawks: We hAvE To cUt sPeNdInG By tEn pErCeNt

Dems: Great. Let's start with the program accounting for over 53% of the Federal Budget

Hawks: NOT THAT SPENDING!

Dark_Arbron posted...

I'd say it's not so much that votes don't "matter" it's that they're not enough on their own. At least, sometimes.

For example, voting in 2020 very much helped stymie the GOP's efforts in the march toward fascism, but just voting isn't enough to, say, purge the police force of misconduct or reinstate appropriate taxes for the rich. Because none of the choices offered to voters seem to be interested in pursuing those things.

By all means, vote. Absolutely. Just don't think it's going to solve everything.

This is true, however all progress originates from either voting or violent overthrow. The latter tends to come around when the former is rejected to a point of irrelevance or it was never an option.

"Everyone please cut your costs and spending, start taking less money because of our debt ceiling. We will continue to have overinflated salaries, bonuses, budgets and daily spending though"

Step 1:
Debt service is always the top line of the budget.

Steps 2+ are all optional.

Kamala Harris is a national embarrassment.

Ah, there's that "personal responsibility" America likes to pass onto its citizens as an excuse for doing nothing.

thats like telling us to stop driving when 3 companies produce more pollution that all the cars combined

MaxEffingBemis posted...

Im tired of electing people that dont fucking do anything and somehow expect us to do something. Like we have to vote harder or some bullshit

I mean. In this case vote harder is quite literally the only solution to this problem.

Republicans are causing this issue. Full stop. Theres nothing Harris or Biden or basically anyone can do about it except conceding to republicans and further letting them fuck everything. The reason for this is because people didnt vote for democrats. So yes. People need to vote and convince others to vote.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/5/AAa0vfAAEfSf.jpg

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Even if it DID, cutting all 535 congress members' salaries to 0 would account for less than a billion dollars. A lot, lot, LOT less.

It's a drop in the bucket.

Sariana21 posted...

Shes reminding people how important voting is. And also it wouldnt hurt for people to contact their representatives.

This.

Everyone needs to know how republicans are wringing their hands over "costs" now that a dem is in office, when they raised the debt ceiling three fucking times under Trump without blinking an eye.

Are you a bad enough dude to solve the debt ceiling?

Voting is not going to solve this. There's no election between now and the debt ceiling blowing everything up. She knows that, so if that's y'alls defense of her, that's a terrible defense.

Suggesting "solutions" that won't solve anything and aren't even actually calculated to do so, and that shift the onus onto regular people is one of people's biggest frustrations with the Dems. Anyone care to explain how this isn't exactly that?

All anyone needs to do, is realize that the 14th amendment forbids defaulting.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

Pay the debt first. If the government is too broke to do that without borrowing more money, we have even worse problems.

Kinda crazy how Democrats can never do anything until the next election. Apparently they haven't had any majority power to do anything since... ever?

legendary_zell posted...

Voting is not going to solve this. There's no election between now and the debt ceiling blowing everything up. She knows that, so if that's y'alls defense of her, that's a terrible defense.

Suggesting "solutions" that won't solve anything and aren't even actually calculated to do so, and that shift the onus onto regular people is one of people's biggest frustrations with the Dems. Anyone care to explain how this isn't exactly that?

When the snooze on your alarm clock goes off every eight minutes you dont make it stop by hitting snooze again.

You turn off the alarm.

What you are saying does not fundamentally address the problem. Democrats will fix this like we have to do for everything else; on our own.

All we ask is you do your part and vote to make them stop. Its literally the minimum you could be asked to do.

divot1338 posted...

When the snooze on your alarm clock goes off every eight minutes you dont make it stop by hitting snooze again.

You turn off the alarm.

What you are saying does not fundamentally address the problem. Democrats will fix this like we have to do for everything else; on our own.

All we ask is you do your part and vote to make them stop. Its literally the minimum you could be asked to do.

Why do we need to do anything if they'll just fix it like they always do?

Fuck the Democrats

MC_BatCommander posted...

I'm so tired of the obnoxious politics that come with this debt ceiling every fucking time

You have one party to thank for that for the past decade plus.

hockeybub89 posted...

Why do we need to do anything if they'll just fix it like they always do?

Fuck the Democrats

What major legislation have republicans passed in the last 15 years?

Did they repeal and replace Obama care?

Nope.

Infrastructure week?

Nope.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Too scared to comment on what major legislation republicans have passed in the last 15 years?

That's what i thought.