US - another case of going bankrupt slowly at first , then all at once ..... China laughs out loud at US " beggars " .... nice to see Senators still make their cosy earmark featherbeds.....

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-17/slowly-first-then-all-once

Slowly At First, Then All At Once

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/17/2013 16:34 -0400

• Debt Ceiling
 
• President Obama
 
• Treasury Department

inShare1

 

Submitted by Simon Black of Sovereign Man

Slowly at first, then all at once

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.

“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

The dialogue above is from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises.

It’s often attributed to Mark Twain or F. Scott Fitzgerald, or misquoted as something like “At first you go bankrupt slowly, then all at once.” But the theme is the same.

Nations go bankrupt in the same way. Banking collapses occur in the same way. Currency crises strike in the same way. They all happen gradually… and then suddenly. Sometimes overnight.

History is generous with examples of entire nations that have suffered this fate, from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 to Argentina’s millennial financial crisis in 2001.

The warning signs are always there, even at the beginning. Over a period of years, sometimes decades, a tiny trickle of warning signs turns into a steady stream… and eventually a great flood.

The United States is clearly within this model, somewhere between a steady stream and a great flood. It shows.

Last night, after more than two weeks of utterly embarrassing theater, the government in the Land of the Free inked a deal to kick the can down the road a few more months. And in doing so, they set a very dangerous precedent.

As part of the bargain codified in HR 2775 (which President Obama signed into law), the Treasury Department is authorized to SUSPEND the debt ceiling. In other words, for all intents and purposes, there is now NO LIMIT government borrowing.

This limitless borrowing authority will expire on February 7, 2014. But it sets the precedent that dismissing the debt ceiling is a perfectly viable course of action.

Congress has effectively removed their handcuffs… so you can almost assuredly bet down the road that this provision will be extended, and ultimately become permanent.

No one in the Land of the Free seems to care. But foreigners do. The lead commentary out of China’s state media the other day was very clear in its position:

“It is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world.”

America’s dominance is coming to an end. Nearly every piece of objective evidence points to this conclusion– from the US government’s absurdly unsustainable finances to the worldwide backlash against their desperate spying tactics.

For several years now, this decline has been happening gradually. But we are quickly reaching the bifurcation point where the steady stream of warning signs will turn into an epic flood of consequences.

As these events unfold, this will become the biggest story of our time. The end of the US dollar hegemony will affect nearly every human being on the planet. And if history is any guide, what follows will be incredibly tumultuous.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2463136/US-debt-limit-default-mocked-China.html

( China mocks US in editorial cartoons.... US status keeps dwindling ! ) 

Chinese state media have been having their fun with America's protracted attempts to stave off a crippling default - even though it will likely come back to haunt them.

Cartoons depicting the U.S. as a beggar and on a life-support machine have been cropping up in publications this week as the Republicans and Democrats scrambled to agree an extension to the debt ceiling before tomorrow's deadline.

A Chinese minister has also accused the 'gentlemen' on Capitol Hill of showing little concern that their 'monkey business' had been damaging America's reputation around the world.

Default dig: Cartoons like this one depicting the U.S. begging have been cropping up in Chinese state media

Debt fears: A graph showing the increase in US debt since 1980

http://www.acting-man.com/?p=26634

( Looks like key GOP Senators had some goodies directed the way of their States.... ) 

A Profitable Diversion of Loot

October 17, 2013 | Author Pater Tenebrarum

Debt Ceiling Fight Delayed by Four Months – At a Price

Regarding the just ended pseudo-shutdown, we read that:

“The agreement was brokered by the Senate's top Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, and its Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. They stepped in after the House was unable to coalesce around a Republican-only approach Tuesday.

McConnell is up for re-election next year, and his tea party primary opponent issued a statement blasting his role. "When the stakes are highest, Mitch McConnell can always be counted on to sell out conservatives," Matt Bevin said.”

Given that in the House, only 87 Republicans voted for the measure ending the 'shutdown' and 144 against it, it is probably safe to say that there no longer is a Republican party, as such. Rather, it consists of two parties now – all that is still missing is a formal split. It is noteworthy that is was the 'Tea Party' candidate who had the harshest words for Mr. McConnell.

So is it true that McConnell 'sold out conservatives'? In a way it probably is. Apparently he managed to divert some of the looting the general direction of his state, in spite of the fact that so-called 'earmarks' supposedly no longer exist. At issue is the financing of a typical government boondoggle that is running well behind time and way over budget:

“Most experts agree that there were no real winners in the government shutdown debate. And many political forecasters say the brunt of fallout from the debate over the shutdown and the debt ceiling is likely to hurt Republican lawmakers.

However, the nation’s leading Republican senator came out of the deal far from empty handed. That’s because it’s been reported that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell secured language in the new government funding bill that includes nearly $3 billion for a dam project in his home state of Kentucky.

According to reports, a provision in the funding bill includes $2.918 billion in funding to the Army Corps of Engineers to install locks as part of the Olmsted Dam and Lock Authority Project on the Ohio River.

A recent investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found that the project has run millions of dollars over budget and should have been completed “years ago.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the project will not be fully complete until 2024.

McConnell’s spokesman dodged a question about the funding provision when asked by local radio affiliate WFPL.

“Senators (Diane) Feinstein and (Lamar) Alexander, the chair and ranking member of the energy and water subcommittee, worked on the issue and can help you," spokesman Robert Steurer told the station.

The Wall Street Journal says the funding is a substantial increase from the $755 million in funding initially designated for the project. They said the provision was the largest included in the government funding bill agreement reached on Wednesday, along with funding for a roads project in Colorado.

For his part, Alexander said he supported the provision, noting the House and Senate had already approved it earlier this year.

“According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 160 million taxpayer dollars will be wasted because of canceled contracts if this language is not included. Sen. [Diane] Feinstein and I, as chairman and ranking member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, requested this provision,” Alexander said in a statement to BuzzFeed. Alexander’s home state of Tennessee is also expected to benefit from the Olmsted dam project, along with Illinois.

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