Politico reports:
'In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections.'
Of course, they haven't quite succeeded in beating the New Year's deadline, and the loss of the Massachusetts Senate seat to
Scott Brown, may change the calculus, but this would be the third time to raise the debt ceiling since President Obama took office. From
The Hill:
'Both the White House and the independent Congressional Budget Office last month said that they expect the debt to increase by another $9 trillion over the next decade. Should the Senate follow the House's lead and set the new debt limit at $13 trillion, lawmakers would probably have to raise the limit again next year, when the Obama administration expects to run a $1.5 trillion deficit.'
On Christmas Eve, the Senate raised the ceiling marginally by
$290-billion, buying a little more time, but the Senate will raise the ceiling in February. Presumably,
they hope that voters are too stupid to notice this come November. Perhaps they hope to stage
"Hope - The Obama Musical Story," at the Kennedy Center, by way of distraction.
