The GOP are Crazy if they Think We Could Prioritize Our Bills

Now this article just made me think there are no economically sane people left in the GOP.


To many Republicans, however, the prospect of the world's lone superpower juggling its bills doesn't seem so bad. The government could muddle through without a debt-ceiling increase as long as it kept up with interest payments and a few other priorities, they argue.

 

"We are not going to default on the public debt. That doesn't mean that we have to pay every bill the day it comes in," Republican Representative Joe Barton of Texas said on CNBC on Monday.

Barton's position could reflect a genuine disagreement with warnings by Wall Street and Washington analysts or he could be downplaying the default to gain tactical advantage in negotiations with President Barack Obama. But Barton isn't an outlier.

The US Government isn't like some put-upon family that needs to figure out which bills to pay first to prioritize things. This month we can pay the electric bill, the credit card bill, but let the cable bill slide. That does not cut it when you come to world markets. They see the US Government unwilling or unable to pay certain bills and they dump Treasuries. A technical default is still a default. A credit downgrade will still damage the recovery. Why do these people have to be so stupid?