11 months ago
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President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are meeting Monday afternoon for further talks on the impending debt ceiling crisis, following another warning on Sunday from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that June 1 is the “hard deadline” for avoiding a default. Don’t expect much in the way of progress with this meeting: McCarthy set the tone early, saying Monday morning, “It's very hard to get [Democrats] off that spending spree that they're addicted to.” He has rejected any form of increasing revenue, like repealing the "fundamentally flawed" tax cuts Republicans handed billionaires in 2017, insisting on spending cuts that economists say will cause a recession. It’s either that or default, which would result in economic catastrophe. Republicans don't seem to care who gets hit by the shrapnel.
The “who” starts with veterans and seniors, who are pretty much going to be screwed either way. As NPR reports, two big bills come due on June 1 and 2, and the first days of every month: $12 billion for veterans benefits and $25 billion for Social Security benefits. The best case after default is that the Treasury would be able to figure out some way to pay these obligations, albeit delayed. And delayed benefits for veterans and seniors could mean rent and mortgages and utilities not getting paid, prescriptions going unfilled, and cupboards and fridges going empty.
