Cagle Post: Cut, Cap, Balance

This could be a seminal week in Washington. President Obama will finally be kicking off the debt negotiations at the White House with Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. Since May, the Treasury Department has been shifting money around so America does not default on its $14 trillion debt. Those treasury tactics will run out in early August and it is feasible that America will default to its foreign creditors at that time.

True leaders lead and President Obama has been AWOL on the debt crisis. So where has Obama been for nearly two months? What we do know is that President Obama was in New York City raising money for his $1 billion reelection campaign last week. It seems like the only deadline President Obama is worried about is June 30th – when the books are closed for second quarter fundraising. President Obama is more concerned about being reelected than governing. It is not even 2012 yet, and the President is already on a campaign footing.

America is truly at a crossroads with over $14 trillion in debt and 9.1 percent unemployment. President Obama has not produced a legitimate plan to help get Americans back to work. Last week, the government announced that new weekly unemployment claims went up more than expected to 429,000. This is the 11th week in a row that new unemployment claims were over 400,000. The Obama Administration said last year would have a “Recovery Summer,” but they were relying on the failed stimulus bill that was passed over two years ago. One year later, America’s economic engine is still stuck in reverse, and this month’s unemployment numbers do not look promising.

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