The President of the United States and the United States Congress are playing a high stakes game of chicken. For those who you do not know about the game of chicken, it is a game, mostly played in rural parts of the United Statres, where men have their egos tested. Sometimes it is cars against cars in a lane, sometimes is tractors against tractors head on. Sometimes it is man against man in some bar. It is a game of egos, not worrying about the consequences.
Frankly, that is what the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House are doing. They had dueling press conferences on Friday. They refuse each others calls. They both are surrounded by sycophants, the Tea Party on the right and liberals on the Left. They all cry dig in. That call goes about while those of us who know something about economics and business know that if the United States defaults on its debts, all economic Hell will break loose.
But, the politicos want it. The game of chicken is in their political calculations for 2012. The economic problems that their game of chicken could cause for the rest of matters not to them.
Frankly put, all involved earned the Southern title of pissants. Here is how. Speaker Boehner broke off talks with the President of the United States. He would not even return the President’s phone calls. The President vacillates. The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution gives the President the right to raise the debt ceiling on his own. Instead, he debates with his legal team, he debates with Congress, he meanders.
Why does the Speaker ignore the President of the United States? Why does the President of the United States fail to act powerfully? The answer is simple. They are playing politics with the future of our economy. The people around both men want to score political points, make moves. The fact that the people of the United States will suffer from a failure to raise the debt ceiling eludes both sides. They want to score political points.
The fault about what could happen lies everywhere. But, the President has the power to act. Forget the Congress. Congress approved the budget we are under that has created the debt. They even raised their own salaries. The President should give up his professor like vacillation and raise the debt limit by executive order. The President should have done that long ago.
But, the President did not. He wanted to score political points. The Speaker wanted the same.
So, here we are. Two sides are dug in over political gamesmanship. Fears of high interest rates, runaway inflation, and disrespect around the world mean little to those folks. It will hammer the American people hard. But, that is all good for the people who think they can win some type of political advantage.
Our leaders have let us down, in both parties. Both sides are scared to death of some political interests. They are beholden to them, not to the dreams of greatness of America. And, as an American businessman, I am scared to death of what their game of chicken will cost us all.
