Biden warns GOP will ‘crash the economy’ if it wins control of Congress

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pobody on October 24th, 2022 at 23:25 UTC »

They'll also crash healthcare, voting rights, human rights, and social progress. By the way.

neutrino71 on October 24th, 2022 at 23:20 UTC »

They will break the economy (with shutdowns and other obstructions) then point at the Democratic president in 2024 and say, "look at what this evil man has done"

NamelessIguana on October 24th, 2022 at 22:56 UTC »

Full transcript:

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Hear this closely: The Republicans have made it clear that if they win control of the Congress, they will shut down the government, refuse to pay our bills, and it’ll be the first time in our history America will default unless I yield and cut Social Security and Medicare. Flat-out saying that.

In order to cut Social Security and Medicare, they’re threatening to default on the federal debt. There’s nothing — nothing that will create more chaos, more inflation, and more damage to the American economy than this.

Think about it: Republicans are determined to hold the economy hostage. Either give in to their demands on Social Security and Medicare, which millions of Americans rely on and earned and paid for, or Republicans are going to crash the economy.

Let me be clear: I will not cut Social Security. I will not cut Medicare. (Applause.) No matter how hard they — I’m never going to give in. It’s outrageous.

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News coverage of the Republican plans to do exactly what Biden says they're planning on:

All four GOP representatives running to head the House Budget Committee have promised that they are going to take the debt ceiling hostage to get big cuts. “Our main focus has got to be on nondiscretionary—it’s got to be on entitlements,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA). Specifically, they mentioned increasing the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare, and adding means tests or work requirements. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who will probably be Speaker of the House if Republicans take control, endorsed the strategy. “You can’t just continue down the path to keep spending and adding to the debt,” he said.

To review, the debt ceiling is a legal mechanism dating from 1917 that says the government can only borrow a certain amount. So when Congress passes a budget requiring some borrowing (which is almost every time), if the resulting debt would go beyond the ceiling, Congress has to pass an additional measure to raise it. It’s as if you had a credit card with a borrowing limit that you could set yourself.