Debt-ceiling Fight Rages On

Speaker Boehner wasn’t able to get enough Republican votes in the House to pass his plan after all; apparently it will now be amended to require that Congress send a balanced-budget constitutional amendment to the states before a debt-ceiling increase is triggered (as would have been required by the failed Cut, Cap, and Balance Act), which is a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. 

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Debt-ceiling Fight Over?

Last Friday, Speaker of the House John Boehner finally walked out on the unproductive talks with President Obama; he cut Obama out of the loop and went to negotiate directly with Democrats in the Senate, which arguably makes a lot more sense.

By yesterday, Boehner had already come up with a new plan, which he believes can pass both the Republican House and the Democratic Senate. 

Austerity in Europe, Delusional Washington

Mark Steyn, as usual, is must-read material:

As Obama made plain in his threat to Gran’ma last week that the August checks might not go out, funding nonproductivity is now the principal purpose of the modern state.

Monkey and Ape Ape Men, Use Tools

As The Telegraph puts it, “How about that?”  I couldn’t resist passing this on.

I do so without further comment.

Government Tries To Make College More Affordable, Makes It Less Affordable

I’ve called before for a “Separation of School and State” on the grounds that the education itself is different—and not as good, for the recipient or for the rest of us—to the extent that it is paid for by the government.

This week in National Review Online, Michael Barone discusses another reason:  Government’s attempts to help are actually making college more expensive. 

Thumbs Up Rob Portman, Thumbs Down Sherrod Brown

Just a quick report on my (Ohio’s) two senators, from my communications with them yesterday about the debt-ceiling fight:

I called Senator Portman’s office and immediately reached a real person.  The staffer seemed unprepared to discuss policy details apart from particular proposals, but as to the particular proposals currently on the table, he assured me that Senator Portman would support Senator Lee’s version of “Cut, Cap, and Balance”, and that he would not support the “Gang of Six” proposal (more on that here). 

American Fiscal History, 2009-2011

Congressman Paul Ryan offers a very succinct review of the last two years, from Democrats’ bad policies (e.g., raising taxes during a recession) to their refusal to follow the rules (not passing a budget when required by law to do so, abusing the reconciliation process to pass Obamacare).  I recommend it, especially if you’re not already familiar with some of this recent history.  Even if you are, it’s important to keep the current debt-limit fight (including President Obama’s breathtaking attempts to paint himself as the responsible one) in perspective.

Hat tip to the Foxhole.