The weight of the yoke

We at A&G make a pledge...

 Both to you the reading audience and to ourselves...

That we will not get sucked into this meaningless, trivial debt-ceiling 'faux-drama' that like every other pretend 'line in the sand' ends up magically getting resolved with a combination of swift can-kick and manipulative sweep under the collective 'rug'..

To do otherwise would be to treat you all as simps.

There's plenty of other news outlets and blog sites willing to take on that role most joyously... And of course on those sites, you have you sift through the clutter of endless advertisements displayed (Count the ads here at A&G.. nope, not a single one...)

Here's how the whole debt-ceiling brouhaha nonsense will play out:

Either...

A) There will be a last-minute compromise of the two sides with each party giving away far more than they should so that the ceiling is raised to cover the US for another 12-16 months

B) Finding no compromise on a bigger debt ceiling deal, the two whore parties will agree to a mini-compromise much like they did with the fiscal cliff, and agree to a increase on the ceiling just enough to take them into the summer when no one pays attention

C) There will be a brief government shutdown like in 1994 when Clinton refused to cut entitlements and Speaker at the time Newt Gingrich refused to negotiate a budget honestly without them..  And you'll hear threats of no Social Security, Veterans Benefits, etc.. which will all be a ruse to get everyday Americans scared and angry.. then a compromise.

And that's basically that...

No one in government has the guts to do what millions upon millions of individuals do to their creditors when the debt load is so outrageously high, it will suck them under the tide:

Tell the debtors to go Fuck themselves, stop paying and default...

Oh  you hear all the stories of chaos and calamity if we did this.. And who's telling the tall-tales?  The Government mainly.. And really why not provide mis-information.. Because what is their interest or benefit in not paying the debt?

Most if not all politicians work for the banking and finance industry in one form or another and their masters need the debt/credit machine to continue firing its pistons.

Most if not all politicians are also multi-millionaires who pay far less taxes than they should be, and if we defaulted, now their financial responsibilities to the nation would need to increase even moreso...

Here's a little history lesson to show the mindset of banks:

Back in the 1860s, Mexico defaulted on their debts to the banks; they simply could not pay their loans without the nation collapsing.  So what did the bankers do back then?

It negotiated a deal with Napoleon III of France that in exchange for invading Mexico and placing a puppet ruler to work for the creditors (Maximillian), France would get to keep a percentage of the profits from the natural resources (gold) stolen from the nation) that was to be used to pay back the loans.

Eventually Maximillian's puppet dictatorship was overthrown and he was killed by the people.  The bankers saw France was not going to go into an expensive war to fight Mexico over this ouster, so the disgusting bankers were forced to draw up new loans with Mexico's new government.

Here's another little history lesson about nations and bank debt that no one wishes to talk about:

Back in post-World War I Germany, the nation was suffocated with the burden of a reparations debt to the victors of the war, namely France which was to be economic & symbolic punishment for starting the Great War.

Because of this debt along with the economic struggles of re-building a war-torn nation, by the mid 1920s, its economy collapsed upon itself with hyperinflation taking hold.

And for a period of time before the banking community got together to artificially re-peg the deutche mark to something normal, it was not uncommon to see wheelbarrows of money taken to stores to buy milk and bread..

Then Hitler was elected as Chancellor and the Nazi Party took over..

Now let's be clear before we continue, we are not defending Hitler in any way.. He and his kind were evil and despicable to the core; all of them now currently in hell forever..

But truth is truth-- Hitler did one good thing as Chancellor-- he defaulted on the debt (Germany also was the first nation to give its people welfare and Social Security, and depending on how you feel on the social programs, you'll utter "It figures!" or say "Yukk!"

Now essentially Hitler said to France and the bankers, that he and his government did not agree to these harsh crippling debts, they weren't going to pay and dared them to force Germany to do so...  And what happened?  The banks could not find a willing party to invade Germany over this (people in the 1920s were still exhausted and drained emotionally from the last war and not actively seeking a new one)

So instead of Germany being punished, the banks decided that new lines of credit were to be open to Hitler.. And American corporations opened their arms to the Third Reich and were more than excited to put their factories in Germany and help grow the Nazi economy... Ford, Firestone, etc..  Germany to them was a goldmine of economic opportunity...

And who knows how horrible a world we'd all be living in today if Hitler hadn't chosen to divide his military forces in half by opening up a second front via a 3 million strong invasion of Russia in 1941 while still bombing England.

But the point we make is still valid--  nations default all the time.  Those who are powerful or brave aren't treated the same as 3rd world nations and island states who have no alternatives.

If the US defaulted, it still would be the world's reserve currency because for no other reason, it possesses the military muscle to ensure it.  A default would utterly decimate and cripple the Chinese economy which is so Heavily dependent on US consumption for their crap products...

At the same time, 100% of the tax revenue we take in would go for domestic purposes.  Not a penny to pay to external forces... Professional Investors would take a much-deserved financial killing in the global markets and from it, the old power hierarchy of the super-wealthy would fall with it...

But no matter what changes would come about, the US would survive it..

We'd still attract corporations from abroad and new investment... And as nation we'd be strong because with few exceptions, we provide all the necessary natural resources within to grow and sustain a newly -thriving economy..

But..  To start anew, the national debt needs to be defaulted on

And until you get leaders who have the courage and stop looking at it in global terms but American terms, we will continue our economic enslavement as a nation, even if our populace has yet to feel the full weight of the yoke.