Like It Is

When our local school district faced the possibility of not having its tax levy passed (what a dumb way to finance schools, by the way), it published the plans it had drawn up to deal with the financial impact. It was pretty stark. The levy passed. It was not politicking (which is illegal); it was telling it like it was.

Time for President Obama to do the same: state exactly what will be cut if the debt ceiling isn't raised. TeabaggRs, unused as they are to facing actual facts, will cry foul. Fear-mongering! They told us nothing would happen!! But it's time to do it; and it has to be totally accurate. I have no idea what would need to happen, nor do I know over what pursestrings the president has control. Eliminating funding for Congress, one of the least productive in years, would seem an excellent starting place, although I'd guess it's not legally possible. Congress is nothing if unable to make sure it can avoid the pain it invokes upon everyone else. But he wouldn't be shutting it down; they'd just have to work (for lack of a better term) for no pay. Seems fair.

So what will it be? Salaries of soldiers? Social Security checks? National parks, the FBI? I assume that somewhere they have the list drawn up. Time to get it out there. And when he does, Mr Obama also needs to point out all the concessions he and Congressional Ds have made, and the refusal of Rs to accept anything but all of their demands.

Default is in their stars, and he needs to make it clear.

[Update: he's nibbling at it. But "can't guarantee" isn't the same as "here's what will happen..." Surely they can know.]