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The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas on the debt ceiling debate and the need to reduce spending by the government.
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Justice you to -- facing less than a month away from hitting the debt ceiling allows several ideas toward evening floated to address -- our next guest says.
It's time to skip the gimmicks and reach a long term solution would that be nice France and joining us now -- mcinnis president of the committee for responsible budget and ahead of the campaign to fix the debt.
My you know Democrats came out today some Democrats -- you plan to eliminate the federal debt ceiling Tim Geithner things we should eliminated Ben Bernanke thinks we should.
Eliminated Moody's awhile ago said why we using a debt ceiling because we're one of the few countries left in the world that does.
We have a debt ceiling but look at the debt problem -- -- -- what good is it.
Well I think -- it stands right now that the debt ceiling is one of the only reminders that there to push action.
-- -- a step back -- think about how we should actually deal with this which is there's a huge fiscal problem.
We all know that congress instead.
Fighting over the debt ceiling and finger pointing on the general issues should be working to fix that problem.
And we know that how it's gonna take involved you know involve looking at all the different areas in the budget.
And really making the tough choices about how you bring the -- so it's not quite fast and the economy.
But congress seems to use every opportunity to pick a partisan fight should -- years and that's actually not use the debt ceiling.
And to punt on these issues and if one of members of congress are back here working.
And to what they -- working on fixing the problems that we know exist are deficits are too large -- borrowing too much.
They could actually put in place a plan that would gradually deal with these problems.
And then you lift the debt ceiling because you have resolved when steepening and away I don't get much smarter way to approach that.
But you know what and I get what you're saying -- -- some sort of witness in some sort of bar right but at the same time.
The markets of kind of moved on to this I mean if they weren't that concerned I think we'd be down more than twenty points today.
We still have pretty darn good credit rating even though Moody's keeps threatening to drop that they threaten both -- so.
You know and he if we -- dire straits.
I think you be feeling and other places in really aside from us.
Blow -- about it on the news all the time I'm sure anybody can first.
Well that's a frequent because markets are -- a lot of different -- and have a lot of different concerns.
The first -- I would make is that keep in mind the US is still a better.
Economy and so -- economies down around the world and so we benefit from that.
We remain a safe haven.
-- a moment until we aren't anymore and that the question is when will that happen.
-- -- as markets have many immediate threats to be worried about.
Recently we had are we going over the fiscal cliff or are we not.
Now that's the question of whether to sequester won't hit what -- be too much deficit reduction in the wrong parts of the budget -- quickly.
It's at a more thoughtful parks and that.
-- hello government shut down because fund angle and and and that -- are lots of action forcing moments that markets are worried about but the bigger issue -- our deficits and debt and the fact that that is more like.
A frog in boiling water so that it gradually.
Undermined here economy's ability to perform.
It hurts economic growth and it takes away the stability that allows us to generate growth through investment.
Job creation all the things we need to get the economy going.
Markets are gonna respond to that on any one day but it's gonna hinder our our economic performance.
For now target hurting our standard of living -- -- going to more in the future so that's a harder concern to -- -- won't -- moment but it's the biggest in the long -- It is indeed my Maginnis thank you so much my we didn't have time to get into entitlement reform and reforming the tax code to huge issues I know you'll very -- -- that.
The remains be seen by smaller seen so far out of Washington is going to be a big tall order that will save my thank you.
