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US seeks deal to avoid 'economic Armageddon'
The White House has said "momentum" has been seen towards a deal to avert a disastrous early August debt default, but denied media reports that a compromise with top politicians is in the works.President Barack B.O.Obama and John It is not pronounced 'Boner!'Boehner ... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans... , the speaker of the House of Representatives, were believed to be discussing a possible deal that would include tax reform and $3tn in spending cuts over 10 years to avert the unprecedented default, a senior Democratic congressional told the Rooters news agency on Thursday. Finance and business leaders have warned failure to raise the US debt ceiling by August 2 then would send shock waves through the world economy, while Obama has predicted a default would trigger economic "Armageddon". In reaction to the potential agreement,  Harry Reid... the charismatic former Senate majority leader ... , the senate majority leader, underscored the divisive nature of the issue by saying any deficit-cutting deal aimed at winning a debt limit increase must contain revenue boosts as well as the spending cuts. "This can't be all cuts, there has to be a balance," Reid said. He was responding to news hounds' questions about the possible deal's stipulations that would leave tax reform and revenue increases for a later date. Debt deadline looms The report of a break in the partisan deadlock comes with time running short before the deadline to raise the $14.3tn US debt ceiling. "We believe there is momentum behind the idea of a balanced approach to a significant agreement," Jay Carney, the White House front man, said. But Carney rejected a New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... report, citing anonymous congressional officials, that aides to Obama had informed important politicians that a deal was in the works with Boehner, according to the AFP news agency. "There is no deal. We are not close to a deal," Carney said. "The fact is that there is no progress to report, but we continue to work on getting the most significant deficit-reduction package possible." As AFP reported, such an agreement would likely anger Democrats pledged to protect the US social safety net as well as Republicans who have vowed to oppose increasing revenues, dimming its prospects for passage in the divided congress. Posted by: Fred 2011-07-22 |
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