FOIA'd Documents Prove: The Obama Administration Lied When It Claimed It Could Not Prioritize Spending During a Shutdown to Avoid a Default

I know, I know.

You think I'm crazy. But hear me out.

During the fights about the debt ceiling -- in 2011 and 2013 -- people who wanted to reduce spending noted, correctly, that a simple expiration of a government funding would not, in fact, trigger an immediate default on government debt.

The Obama Administration claimed it would, because they were trying to scare people to just give into them. (It worked.)

People like Veronica De Rugy said that that was preposterous, that the government had a fair amount of money (even with a spending shutdown) and could prioritize its payments to make sure the debt was paid off, to avoid that bad outcome.

Again, the Obama Administration lied and said that was impossible.

Not only was it possible-- they planned for it and wargamed it.

Well, as it turns out, documents subpoenaed by the House Financial Services Committee reveal that during the 2013 debt ceiling debate, "the Obama Administration is not only capable of prioritizing payments in case the nation's borrowing authority is not raised, it has run 'tabletop exercises' to prepare for such a contingency -- contradicting earlier public statements from Treasury officials."

But no one will care, because everyone knows, this country ain't gonna fundamentally transform itself.

posted by Ace at 02:34 PM

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