Reply #32: Rely on the 14th Amendment and arrest anyone who questions the [View All]

full faith and credit of the United States Government on charges of treason. That is my opening bargaining position. You see, the debt ceiling has always been just a political ploy to reassure the ignoramuses who think that a government budget can be run like a household one. Call for eliminating the debt ceiling entirely and be done with it.

It would even have bipartisan support:
"Deficits don't matter."
--Dick Cheney

Then call the Republicans' bluff. Refuse to raise the ceiling at all if they don't cave to my demands. NO cutting Social Security or Medicare, but cut defense in half. Insist on raising taxes on billionaires, say, a 100% tax on anything more than a billion dollars in income because billionaires serve no useful purpose and should not have the right to exist. Then be willing to compromise at 90%. See how reasonable I am?

If they don't cave, and they will, because the investor class will order them to, but if they don't, let the stock and bond markets collapse. It won't hurt most Americans in the short term as the initial effect will be a rise in interest rates and most Americans don't get monthly money from stock and bond returns. Blame the Republicans. Nationalize the Wall Street banks if you have to. It won't come to that; they'll totally surrender first.

If they don't, well, I still have that treason charge. Shoot a few of them, and the rest will cave.

Think about it, this is a very moderate, centrist proposal. Harry Truman would have had no problem with it.