US Default

We should know whats happening within the next 10 days.

In the mean time im moving before the markets crash(if the us does infact default)
Tommorow I will:

-Fix all my floating mortgages at 3,4 and 5 year rates
- Transfering all my funds from ASB to kiwibank (Kiwibank is govt owned and less likely to go bankrupt)
-Liquidate all my share portfolio

What plans are you doing?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8653355/Federal-Reserve-making-plans-for-US-debt-default.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/senator+warns+reaching+brink+default/5151658/story.html

Absolutely nothing.

Kris-B, are you with kiwibank? I would seriously look at withdrawing all your funds if the US does in fact default and put your money into Kiwibank or even better hide your cash under your mattress.

I bought a gold bar. It's pretty

Even if I wasn't with Kiwibank, it's going to have a completely zero effect on my portfolio.

i swapped all my money for drugs.

I shall take a dump.

I'm swapping all my drugs for residue.

I shall use dollar bills for toilet paper

No way the US will default. The debt ceiling is such a theoretical, almost arbitrary symbol that they can ultimately decide to completely ignore if they wish.

Suffice to say 'storing money under a mattress' is fucking idiocy and if it ever got to the point where we were experiencing widespread bank failure in New Zealand, having a few bits of plastic stored under where you sleep won't do you any good whatsoever.



gc.

money means nothing

I have a knife

i haz a rock

no quite so - thats been the case until now

the debt ceiling will most likely rise slightly after some more grandstanding and farrowed brows which will force a similar crisis next year as they head towards the election - ie destroy Obama's ability to do much about anything

Republicans want Obama out and to seriously degrade the current govt services - here they have the opportunity to deal a severe blow to "big govt" in their endless quest for a smaller govt and get rid of the upperty nigger

a win win for them that care not for their country... only in winning their battles

most dont think the US will actually default...and if they do it will be a claytons default because at the end of the day the world is still keen to lend USA money , whether thats actually wise or not is up to you.
I cant envisage it having a huge effect on NZ (Aus) banks...or the NZ stockmarket really.
so i would suggest you're over-reacting to this particular news item KGB razor.
that said, your actions arent silly either...nows not a bad time to fix mortgages, Kiwibank probably does have a de facto govt guarantee and its a good time to take profits on equity investments and let things settle.

It's certainly been a grand opportunity for the Republican freak show to truck their anti-society agenda, while fighting to reduce corporate and luxury taxes

and for many democrats to show they are basically republicans with a blue badge afixed to their chests

meanwhile in the oval office a small child weeps

thats john key stood up again

NO PHOTO OP FOR YOU

NZ Media isn't doing much coverage of this issue. For those interested www.businessinsider.com to very good up to date information whilst www.retuers.com and www.bloomberg.com give good general updates.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/5358159/Microsofts-tax-havens-drive-down-tax-bill

US debt scenario illustrates that:

1. Capitalism = fail
2. If you let the corporations fuck your nation-state up the arse they will oblige

Obama needs to grow some balls

Dunno what he's supposed to do though? By my understanding the executive branch is powerless to do much w/out the consent of congress, especially on all things financial.

I agree his rhetoric needs to be more forceful though...

Here is one suggestion, from twitter :>

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/07/trillion_dollar_coin_debt_ceiling_balkin.html?mid=twitter_nymag

Obama has a reputation as the President of Compromise
Previous Presidents in tough situations have faced down their opponents and won, he needs to do the same he is the FUCKING PRESIDENT

the death knell of capitalism is nigh!

the balls of which you speak: would they be golden ones?

Unlikely, the parasite kills its host first before it too dies.

It's kind of hard to fathom how much lies in the balance here. There seems to be about three options: global depression (default); death of the US public sector (Republican victory); more of the same (Democrat victory).

or death of the GOP?

I'm not following it closely enough to call that, certainly a trend in recent months may be increasing public concern about the unhingedness of the GOP, but on this issue i'm only aware that the public incredulity is around not wanting to see a default

this won't harm the GOP - well anymore than their embracing and pandering too the batshit insane has

this entire situation shows how little they (democrats and republicans) care for the people and mechanisms of state

two parties no choice - lovely state of affairs

shitty cartoons like that might be amusing, but they are useless metaphors for understanding these kinds of situations

2011 US FederAL Budget

Defense $1,002 billion
Food and Nutrition Programs $90 billion
Education and Student Grants $82 billion
Energy $31 billion
Health and Human Services $121 billion
Medicaid $290 billion
HUD $48 billion
Unemployment Insurance $104 billion
State Department $57 billion
Transportation - Highways and FAA $75 billion
EPA $9 billion
Other $231 billion

Clearly, when you are spending a trillion plus dollars on defence, you need to cut the 400 billion spent of medicare and unemployment insurance to balance the budget.

au contraire OneHappy, the cartoon cuts right to the point.
Who is it usually who controls the debt agreement, the lender or the borrower?

The lender is not necessarily in control, they are bound into a mutually dependent relationship

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/opinion/krugman-the-centrist-cop-out.html?src=me&ref=general

obama needs to go some balls

That article is spot on. The media is a failed institution, and society will pay the cost

what peat is saying is an old maxim

owe the bank a hundred thousand dollars, the bank owns you

owe the bank a billion dollars, ypu own the bank

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/28/999759/-Hardball:-Bruce-Bartlett-desroys-every-Republican-fiscal-talking-point-in-5-minutes-

Wow, wow.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/



gc.

It's such a clusterfuck eh :/

And with an aging population more people are gonna be getting on medicare (or medicaid?) and social security... increasing the debt ceiling w/out raising taxes is just delaying the inevitable.

They're fucked basically.

It's such a clusterfuck eh :/

And with an aging population more people are gonna be getting on medicare (or medicaid?) and social security... increasing the debt ceiling w/out raising taxes is just delaying the inevitable.

They're fucked basically.

Deal done.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10742208



gc.

yippee now we can focus on the more general issue at hand in regards to the USA

Looks like a shit deal. They've gone belly up to the big corps pleading for a new round of rogering

I don't quite grasp how it is assumed the democrats in the senate will back this - there is already a significant backlash amongst democrats in congress. I suppose Obama just needs enough democrats to support the plan along with the GOP - but he fucked himself basically.

http://www.huffingtonpost.?com/robert-kuttner/the-goo?ns-of-august_b_914518.html

I wonder how hillary would have dealt with the tea party if she was POTUS?

Probably in pretty much the same way. It's not like POTUS is all powerful in this position.

tea party would not be quite so rabid if Hilary was pres... she may be a lady but she sure as shit ain't black

That's cranking!
Another interesting visualisation here;
http://usdebt.kleptocracy.us/

True, nor is she an african undercover muslim!

does the deal include raising taxes?

anything that doesn't include raising taxes is bullshit.

are you a commie?

the only way to promote growth is to reduce your earnings- economics for the batshit insane 101

Wonder how long it will be until they stop using WTC as a scale in such things. Today's 10 year olds have no idea.

NEVER FORGET KRIS NEVER

10 year olds exposed to endless Friends re-runs need to know what they are

"There should be no mystery about what caused the $14 trillion debt: large deficits began in 1981, with Ronald Reagan’s fanciful “supply side” tax-cutting. Federal debt was then around $1 trillion. By 2007 it had reached $9 trillion, thanks to George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and his two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the massive subsidy for Big Pharma in Medicare drug benefits. The 2008 financial collapse and deep recession generated most of the remainder, as tax revenues fell drastically. Obama’s pump-priming stimulus added to the debt too, but a relatively small portion."

http://www.thenation.com/article/162337/obamas-bad-bargain

Obama should have gone to the US people and gained support for increased govt revenue, and then bought moderate Republicans on side, under public pressure. That would have been a challenge given the US media gives inordinate coverage to tea party loonies. But Obama was elected as the President of Change We Can Believe in, so he could have done it. If he had balls and will.

Instead he has wrung his hands, and backed down, while the Republicans stood firm, laughed at him, and got pretty much everything they wanted.

... and now they have a committee of 12 loosers to divvy up the the spending cuts

so in summary