No the Democrats Have No Plans to do 'Debt Ceiling Deal'

     Greg Sargent makes the crucial point that the Democrats and Obama don't need to negotiate over the debt ceiling as it is something that simply has to happen and the GOP knows this.

     "The early returns, based on the coverage of this looming battle so far, suggest Republicans are successfully defining the terms of this debate — they are defining it as a standard Washington standoff, in which each side will demand concessions from the other. Indeed, you can read through reams of the coverage without learning three basic facts about this fight"

       "Republican leaders will ultimately agree to raise the debt ceiling, and they know it, because they themselves have previously admitted that not doing so will badly damage the economy."

       "And so, a hike in the debt ceiling is not something that Democratic leaders want and that Republican leaders don’t. In other words, it is not a typical bargaining chip in negotiations, in the way spending cuts (which Republicans want and Dems don’t) or tax hikes (which Dems want and Republicans don’t) are.

      "And so, if and when Republicans do agree to raise the debt ceiling, it will not constitute any kind of concession on their part — even though they will continue to portray it as such to demand concessions in return. It will only constitute Republicans agreeing not to damage the whole country, which does not constitute (one hopes) them making a sacrifice.

       http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/01/03/the-morning-plum-media-shouldnt-get-rolled-by-gop-debt-ceiling-spin/

       As Sargent suggests, the media is full of stories that present this as something that is a quid pro quo-the Dems get their debt ceiling hike, the GOP gets to gut Medicare and Social Security. The debt ceiling of course should not exist and if it were understood people would get why there is no quid pro quo here. It's essentially the government via the Treasury asking for money that Congress has already vowed to spend It's an anachronism in reality.

      " As Paul Krugman recently put it, “raising the debt ceiling only empowers the president to spend money that he’s authorized to spend by Congressional legislation; nothing more.” In the current context, conservatives and Republicans who hold out against a debt limit hike are, in practical terms, only threatening the full faith and credit of the United States — and threatening to damage the economy — in order to get what they want. Any accounts that don’t convey this with total clarity — and convey the sense that this is a normal negotiation — are essentially misleading people. It’s that simple."

         So this is much ado about nothing. The one thing I don't get is why-according to Josh Marshall-the White House doesn't think they can use the 14th amendment. They worry that even if it is legal-and evidently they for some strange reason don't think it is-it would roil the market. Do they think it would roil the market more than simply not raising it at all?

        Krugman has another piece on the debt ceiling that teases MMTers then pulls out in the end.

        http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/debt-in-a-time-of-zero/