My Mistatement
Re: Debt Ceiling – My Crow-Eating Apology
I am ashamed to have to write a retraction.
And I must apologize.
Admittedly, I posted erroneous figures in regard to the House bill’s planned provision to cut the deficits.
My Last post blatantly misrepresented the general terms of the Bill which passed the House.
I my previous post, I mentioned a 4 trillion dollar figure which is categorically false.
As such, this bill’s provisions fall miserably short of that mark needed to adequately address the needs of the nation’s debt with respect to sustainability.
It is a shame that this bill even provides a measure of escape when the nation needs to get a grip on this issue …once and for all rather than merely defer it to a future date beyond the 2012 election cycle when …it will needs be wrestled with again in and with a more certain degree of uncertainty …or …not.,
All in all, I still have to tip my hat to Rand Paul for knowing well enough when enough is enough and when to say no.
As is, this bill fails miserably in the department of what was and still is decisively needed to nip the nation’s debt crisis in the bud.
Such as it is, Congress’ paltry attempts to put party before the better interests of the nation continues to leave America fiscally vulnerable to continued irresponsibility …a downgrade not withstanding.
And this says nothing about how unprepared America is to respond to national disasters and threats from abroad.
It would appear rather ludicrous that …in failing to adequately address this mess adequately …a downgrade is become …somehow majically removed and altogether …now missing from the table.
On the contrary …if the sell off has been comprised of institutional selling …that ndicator alone should confirm some curious affect in the wake of Timothy Geithner’s recent curious meeting with the heads of the nation’s leading financial services institutions.
Sector rotation being the big wooly mammoth that it is, it takes some time before institutional players would be well poised and positioned to withstand the impact and affects of a downgrade.
Who knows?
As curious as this speculation may be, the market continues to sell off, in spite of what some more delusional have attempted to characterize Congress’ meager efforts as a monumental compromise.
Aside from the release of rather dismal ISM numbers, I would venture to say that today’s sell-off is more reflective of a lack of market confidence stemming from the possibility that Congress has not altogether …totally averted the high probability of an immanent downgrade.
In this, such is still …like the next national disaster …looming overhead.
This alone, is not all that bad though.
But what speaks poorly for the nation is the nature of Congress and how it failed to effectually address and adequately deal with such an urgent issue.
That is a bad omen which does not bode well for the future.
But what is one to do?
It would seem that today’s shortcomings do little more than to leave the door open to greater and more frequent troubles.
Without resolve, there is a more certain open invitation for such …especially in view of a lack of preparedness.
It would seem, then that …this as well as a political will gone wanting are the greater miss given pieces of the puzzle which still face Washington walking away from this session’s mess.
At any rate, I apologize again for misstating the size of the cuts this bill should have made to reduce the deficits.
And I just hope that any downgrade which may result from doing to little …too late …will not threaten to come to represent an opportunity lost …the size of which might be larger than the difference between 4 trillion and 2.3 trillion …
As is, the 1.7 trillion dollar short fall which is now gone missing from what was believed to be the needed target figure …would most certainly be an opportunity loss …one realized rather quickly should a downgrade become an eventuality.
As it would appear, for the time being …Congress is busy slapping itself on the back in the belief that it has successfully made a pact with devil …when, in reality; it has meagerly merely kicked this thing a ways down the road again.
