You need to know this. Many incoming Republican freshman members - as well as old guard figures within the party - are promising to deliver on their threat to shut down the government. That is - despite the devastating effects it could have on - not only our economy - but the financial stability of the entire world. If Republicans choose not to increase the debt ceiling early next year - a move supported by the Tea Party and an increasing number of GOP lawmakers - including the second most powerful member of the caucus - Eric Cantor - then the government will indeed shut down. The last time Republicans shut the government down - back in 1995 and 1996 - it cost taxpayers $800 million. So what are the consequences if the Republicans do it again? The Center for American Progress released a report on this issue. First - over 40% of the government will stop working. That means no Social Security payments - no Medicare coverage - no unemployment insurance - no funding for our troops in combat overseas - and no homeland security. Sound like a place you want to be? Second - defaulting on our national debt could cause a run on our Treasury bonds. In other words - all the countries that we owe many to - like China - could immediately ask for their money back. It would be like a run on the banks - but instead - a run on the US economy. On top of that - the credit worthiness of our country would plummet - leading to higher borrowing costs and guess what - a larger deficit and national debt. Finally - the government is responsible for about a fifth of the spending in our economy. If that money is suddenly sucked out - then we might as well brace ourselves for the second Great Depression. There you have it - the Republicans plan to fix our economy.
-Thom
(Do you think the Republicans will succeed? Tell us here.)
Net Neutrality Attack!
You need to know this. We are now seeing the second attack on net neutrality from the same company - Comcast. Level 3 Communications - an Internet company that carries Netflix's streaming movie service - was hit with what it called an unfair fee by Comcast for sending data across the Internet. Thomas Stortz - Level 3's chief legal officer said - "Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network." If so - this would go directly against the FCC's rule preventing Internet Service Providers from deciding on which type of web traffic they want to administer. It would also prove the lie of those who say the Internet is still free and wide-open and therefore legislation and government oversight is not needed. With Comcast on the verge of receiving federal approval to buyout NBC - we could see an avalanche of restrictions placed on Internet data by Comcast. If Comcast isn't stopped soon and suddenly by Congress or the Obama Administration, free and open Internet may be a thing of the past.
-Thom
(Will the sites you visit be put on the slow track? Tell us here.)
No comments:
Post a Comment