First quarter GDP revised downward to a 0.4 percent growth rate. Second quarter GDP grew at a lower-than-expected 1.3 percent.
Let’s go ahead and suck some more demand out of the economy by cutting government spending. But first, it’d be a good idea to roil the credit markets by flirting with government default.
Anything we’re leaving out of this recipe for disaster?
Revised government data released this morning shows the recession was significantly worse than previously thought. Instead of shrinking by 2.5 percent in 2009, the economy actually shrank by 3.5 percent.
Two points to remember about that: Read More
Sounds like Harry Reid is going to push forward with his debt bill today in the Senate regardless of what happens in the House. “The last train is leaving the station,” Reid just said on the Senate floor.
A brief excerpt of Reid’s floor speech, as prepared for delivery: Read More
There’s been a delicate dance all week between Speaker Boehner and Leader Reid over whose debt bill would get voted on first in their respective chambers. The dance was almost entirely driven by political factors. Basically, who would look best in the public eye and who would be in the strongest position to negotiate a final deal.
But with the House’s failure to even take up the Boehner plan yesterday, that delicate dance is over because Reid is bumping up against Senate procedural deadlines. If he doesn’t move today, he likely can’t get his bill to a final vote before August 2, when Treasury runs of money.
Follow every last twist and turn in the default crisis at TPM LiveWire.
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a hard “No” vote on the Boehner plan, just announced to reporters following a GOP conference meeting that he would now vote “Yes” on a revised version of the Boehner plan.
The early indications we’re getting, from Majority Leader Eric Cantor, is that the revised Boehner plan will provide for a short term debt ceiling increase and then require a vote on a balanced budget amendment before a subsequent longer term debt ceiling increase through 2012.
Still very early. Reports still sketchy. More soon …
Spirit of Compromise Update: One of our reporters just checked in with the news that the new provision requires the balanced budget amendment to pass both chambers and be shipped to the states before House GOP would approve the second debt ceiling increase.
Just minutes after President Obama urged the parties to come together and avert this default crisis, things are actually going backwards in the House. And in pretty incredible fashion.
To secure enough votes from his own members for his plan, Speaker Boehner is amending it to basically turn it into Cut, Cap, and Balance Lite.
Here’s the key new provision that is apparently going to win enough GOP votes to pass the bill: Read More
Democrats eye which Republican senators could support the Reid plan.