U.S. Debt Ceiling Unconstitutional?

[JakeStratham]

Yesterday, I had linked to this piece from David Gergen at CNN. Here's his most recent piece:

Why Obama's pushing for a mega-deal - CNN.com

Gergen's not merely a talking head for CNN. He's worked with past presidents, and has seen this stuff in the past. That's not to say he's right or wrong, but that he has insight into the negotiation process.

Of particular note:

With prospects dimming for a mega-deal, the president is driving hard to ensure that whatever agreement emerges will keep the country below a new debt ceiling until February 2013. The administration calculates that it will need to raise the current debt ceiling between $2.5 trillion and $2.7 trillion to get to that point.

... and ...

The president feels strongly that an interim agreement for 30, 90 or even 180 days is a very bad idea. That would let a moment of opportunity slip away. It would push negotiations closer and closer to elections, so that agreements would be harder to reach.

And on a semi-related note, here's a humorous look at your tax dollars at work:

 

[JakeStratham]

(Too late to edit the previous post.)

For you Fed watchers, here are the minutes from the latest meeting:

FRB: FOMC Minutes, June 21-22, 2011

If you'd rather avoid reading it, here's a pretty good summary: