Enough Doomsday Scenarios, Secretary Geithner - By Veronique de Rugy

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/267459/enough-doomsday-scenarios-secretary-geithner-veronique-de-rugy

I have said it many times, but I will say it again: While United States should not consider defaulting on its debt, Congress shouldn’t be forced to raise the debt ceiling under false pretenses. And here is the thing: There is absolutely no reason for the U.S. to default on its debt unless it would like to. The U.S. owns roughly $2 trillion in assets that it can use, in addition to $2.2 trillion in tax revenue.

Also, it is really shocking to read Secretary Geithner continue to make threats about not being able to send out Social Security checks, Medicare payments, or military paychecks. This year, this would only be the case if Geithner decided not to pay for these obligations. According to the GAO, the Treasury secretary has the authority to prioritize payments, which means that, considering the country’s assets and revenue, there is enough cash to pay for these priorities and Geithner can make these payments first — that is, if he wants to. (Not to mention that as long as there are assets in the Social Security trust funds, Treasury has to honor them.)

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