Geithner Raids Pension Funds To Deal With Reaching Of Debt Ceiling

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Geithner Raids Pension Funds To Deal With Reaching Of Debt Ceiling – With Video

May 16, 2011 7 Comments ›› Angelia

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress he would start tapping into federal pension funds on Monday to free up borrowing capacity as the nation hits the $14.294 trillion legal limit on its debt.

The Treasury will issue $72 billion in bonds and notes on Monday, pushing the nation right up against its borrowing cap at some point during the day, a Treasury official said.

Geithner said he would suspend investments in two government retirement funds to give the U.S. Treasury additional room to borrow.

“I will be unable to invest fully” in the civil service retirement and disability fund and the government securities investment fund, he said in a letter to congressional leaders.

The Treasury has said the suspension of the investments and other measures it could take would give the government until about August 2 before it will start defaulting on obligations, such as paying bond investors.

Congress is in charge of increasing the debt ceiling, but Republicans are demanding deep cuts to federal spending for the price of their support in doing so.

Geithner reiterated previous pleas for action. “I again urge Congress to act to increase the statutory debt limit as soon as possible,” he said.

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aceofwands

Didn’t they piss all of this away with Social Security long ago?
wwtd

This little LSS said he found something to keep the gov running until August. Say good-bye to your thrift savings all gov workers (your contributions). Robert Rueben pulled the same (clinton) when they shut down the gov.. and held the Repubs hostage. No penalties for them to steal your money. Let that be a lesson that your money is not safe when they control.
mike3481

Hypocrisy on parade

“Harry Reid in ’06: Raising debt limit last thing we should do, will weaken country, hurt economy”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELkbDdPeL7I
Jim up north

Haa we’ll see assholes and elbows now but in the end the american people will once again get screwed!
Tony L

What sort of sickness in driving this man Geither to destroy
the American economy? Why does anyone listen to this fraud? Government massive debt, far from stimulating the economy is a socialist superstition. It will wreck the dollar and turn civil service retirement funds, invested by the workers, into a Ponzi scheme. Social security already is that and it is failing fast.
Replace this incompetent.
Anonymous

PHONY DEBT CRISIS….

Exposing the August 2 Default Myth

     For more than a month, elected officials on both sides of the
aisle and the lapdog media have told us that the
debt ceiling must be raised by August 2 or the United States will go
into default, triggering a worldwide economic Armageddon.

     Even Pete Stark, a Democratic Congressman from California,
called the debt ceiling drama a “Political
Charade.” “You’ve heard
a lot about the Debt Limit. And I
guess that’s – I don’t know how many of you are worried about it
or concerned about it. The fact is I think it’s a political
charade.”

     But don’t take Stark’s word on it. A number of reasonable
voices have tried to cut
through the media smog of lies and propaganda.

     Donald J. Boudreaux, a professor of economics at George Mason
University cautions us: “If President
Obama follows through on his threat to withhold paying August’s
Social
Security obligations of $49.2 billion, it will be because HE CHOSE NOT
to send out Social Security
checks. But the federal government can pay in full its $49.2
billion in Social Security obligations and its $28.6 billion in
Medicare obligations
— in addition to paying all of its creditors — and still have
$10 billion remaining.” [Emphasis Ours]

“The problem is that $10 billion in August
isn’t sufficient to pay for all of the other programs. An
un-raised debt ceiling, therefore, will oblige Washington
politicians to do what they’ve refused to do for generations:
make tough choices
instead of shifting the costs of today’s spending onto
tomorrow’s taxpayers and continuing to spend wildly.”

     Boudreaux’s point bears repeating because it goes to the heart
of the lie and the heart of what is really fueling panic in
the halls of Congress. The problem is not that our federal government
lacks the resources to pay its
debts; the problem is that the government can’t pay its debts AND
use the taxpayer’s hard-earned money to fund its pet projects at
the same
time.

     Economist J.D. Foster with the Heritage Foundation tells us: “Both immediately and long after it reaches
the debt limit, the government would have far more than enough
revenue coming in
that the Secretary of the Treasury could use to pay interest on
the debt. Nor would preserving the current debt limit put at
risk the full faith and
credit of the United States government, as the President’s chief
economic adviser has claimed. The government would continue to
pay net interest
as it comes due.”

     The problem is NOT that we’re not taxed enough… the
problem is
NOT that Washington lacks resources to pay our debt and
service essential (and even some non-essential programs)…
the problem
is that politicians in Washington REFUSE to make the tough
choices… the problem is that politicians in
Washington REFUSE to end their addiction to spending our money.
Anonymous

PHONY DEBT CRISIS….

Exposing the August 2 Default Myth

     For more than a month, elected officials on both sides of the
aisle and the lapdog media have told us that the
debt ceiling must be raised by August 2 or the United States will go
into default, triggering a worldwide economic Armageddon.

     Even Pete Stark, a Democratic Congressman from California,
called the debt ceiling drama a “Political
Charade.” “You’ve heard
a lot about the Debt Limit. And I
guess that’s – I don’t know how many of you are worried about it
or concerned about it. The fact is I think it’s a political
charade.”

     But don’t take Stark’s word on it. A number of reasonable
voices have tried to cut
through the media smog of lies and propaganda.

     Donald J. Boudreaux, a professor of economics at George Mason
University cautions us: “If President
Obama follows through on his threat to withhold paying August’s
Social
Security obligations of $49.2 billion, it will be because HE CHOSE NOT
to send out Social Security
checks. But the federal government can pay in full its $49.2
billion in Social Security obligations and its $28.6 billion in
Medicare obligations
— in addition to paying all of its creditors — and still have
$10 billion remaining.” [Emphasis Ours]

“The problem is that $10 billion in August
isn’t sufficient to pay for all of the other programs. An
un-raised debt ceiling, therefore, will oblige Washington
politicians to do what they’ve refused to do for generations:
make tough choices
instead of shifting the costs of today’s spending onto
tomorrow’s taxpayers and continuing to spend wildly.”

     Boudreaux’s point bears repeating because it goes to the heart
of the lie and the heart of what is really fueling panic in
the halls of Congress. The problem is not that our federal government
lacks the resources to pay its
debts; the problem is that the government can’t pay its debts AND
use the taxpayer’s hard-earned money to fund its pet projects at
the same
time.

     Economist J.D. Foster with the Heritage Foundation tells us: “Both immediately and long after it reaches
the debt limit, the government would have far more than enough
revenue coming in
that the Secretary of the Treasury could use to pay interest on
the debt. Nor would preserving the current debt limit put at
risk the full faith and
credit of the United States government, as the President’s chief
economic adviser has claimed. The government would continue to
pay net interest
as it comes due.”

     The problem is NOT that we’re not taxed enough… the
problem is
NOT that Washington lacks resources to pay our debt and
service essential (and even some non-essential programs)…
the problem
is that politicians in Washington REFUSE to make the tough
choices… the problem is that politicians in
Washington REFUSE to end their addiction to spending our money.