Stalemate over the Debt Ceiling Continues
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Yesterday's White House negotiations failed to make progress, so the President and Congressional leaders are at it again. We get a progress report. Also, waterfront properties with spectacular views are on the market as the US auctions historic lighthouses. If they aren't sold, they'll be given away.
Banner image: Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) (L) and President Barack Obama wait before a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House July 10, 2011 in Washington, DC. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Making News
Obama Says He Wants to Get a Big Deal Done on the Budget ()
Last week, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner agreed that the debt-limit deadline had created an opportunity for something "big:" tax loophole-closings and spending cuts, including adjustments to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. But yesterday, Boehner backed off and called for a smaller package or even a stopgap. Today, the President called a 30- to 90-day extension "unacceptable," cautioning that the closer we get to the 2012 election the harder a solution will become. Michael Shear is a political reporter for the New York Times.
Guests:
- Michael Shear: New York Times, @shearm
Main Topic
Stalemate over the Debt Ceiling Continues ()
"If not now… when?" President Obama asked today as leaders of both parties in Congress prepared for yet another White House negotiating session. He challenged both parties to compromise, so that raising the debt ceiling can become an opportunity for spending cuts and closing tax loopholes long term, insisting that a short-term deal would be unacceptable. What happened to the so-called "big deal" he and Speaker John Boehner talked about just last week? With both parties divided, are next year's elections making it harder to avoid the first default in American history?
Guests:
- Susan Davis: National Journal
- Andy Roth: Club for Growth
- William Galston: Brookings Institution
- Andrew Kohut: Pew Research Center, @pewresearch
- Roger Hickey: Campaign for America's Future
Links:
- US National Debt Clock
- Bipartisan Policy Center’s debt limit analysis
- National Journal on Speaker Boehner's response to debt-ceiling negotiations
- Club for Growth on 'never-ending spending and debt'
- Galston on why Obama should seek an interim agreement on debt
- Pew Research Center on public, GOP on benefits, entitlements
- Hickey on austerity's crippling impact on the recovery
Reporter's Notebook
Government Unloads Historic US Lighthouses ()
"For Sale: Historic waterfront property with a spectacular 50-foot-high view of Lake Michigan. Featuring solid, century-old cast-iron construction pained distinctive red. Comes with its own Fresnel lens for signaling ships." The advertisement is for the North Pierhead Lighthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, one of many lighthouses being made available under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. That's according to Steve Vogel with the Washington Post.
Guests:
- Steve Vogel: Washington Post, @steve_vogel
Links:
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