In an op-ed at 19FortyFive.com, writer John Rossomando argues that New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s refusal to negotiate on the debt limit suggests that she wants the economy to be destroyed.
Rossomando notes that it is vital for Republicans and Democrats to reach a deal on the debt limit before June when, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the federal government will reach the current debt ceiling.
However, Rossomando points out, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is telling her social media followers that Democrats should not negotiate with Republicans at all.
In a post on Instagram, Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats shouldn’t negotiate on the debt ceiling since Republicans can’t even agree with each other on a debt ceiling plan.
In truth, Ocasio-Cortez wouldn’t be involved in any negotiations in the first place. Once voted one of the least effective legislators on Capitol Hill, Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t have the influence or power to lead or participate in any negotiations, let alone those involving raising the federal debt ceiling.
Rossomando takes the position that if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, the United States government would immediately default on its debts, going so far as to claim that not raising the debt limit could cause a global depression. While that is the main media narrative, and the narrative of the White House, others, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, dispute this claim.
In remarks to the New York Stock Exchange last Monday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the House would be voting on a proposal to lift the debt ceiling in the “coming weeks.” He said the proposal would return government spending to FY2022 levels and limit annual spending increases to 1 percent for the next ten years.
McCarthy noted that the cuts are not “draconian” since the spending levels proposed are the very ones that were in place “just last October.” McCarthy said the “bloated, overgrown bureaucracy” that has been expanded by President Biden “needs to be pruned.”
