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US credit in danger again down the road?

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    Another debt ceiling fight looms on horizon

  • Duration 4:05
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That's a faster access pollen and there are many more budget battles on the horizon the next deadline comes march 27 that's when a stopgap bill extending routine government funding expires.

And that could prompt a partial government -- but an even bigger worry the debt ceiling which we are -- ahead.

May eighteenth.

Douglas Holtz Aiken is an economist and president of the American action forum thank you for joining us today -- OK so let's talk about the continuing resolution with a CR that will come up at the end of this month we have to figure out how to keep funding the federal government.

On you explain that potential scenario in which this could really truly be the president's decision about whether the government shuts -- -- get to that point.

But we've already seen a big battle over the sequester and so a big objective for some conservatives -- gonna lock in spending at that lower level -- can imagine the house passing.

They see our funding bill that goes to the end of the year.

At that lower level you can easily imagine the senate this idea that that's a good idea we have members up for election we don't want to be seen as the big spenders so let's pass it.

Now the president states who is far opposite question tooth and -- put in positions as I would shut the government over the sequester and that's an important question asked agreed to.

What -- do you think you -- I mean there's so much to lose either way.

I think that in the end the president would probably sign such a bill because number one.

Even with the sequestered these are funding levels that are above what he requested for these agencies so.

It's not as if he really has mistaken that if if they get the money moved around as they -- -- the -- a CR -- to agencies that they got shortchanged the -- project.

Okay so with that coming there conservative members over in the house who have written to house speaker John Boehner to say we want -- play hardball with this CR we want to get something for it not nothing for it.

Do you think that's a wise move on their part to Republican CDC united on this particular issue.

I think Republicans need to say united I think they need to be realistic they are minority party they controlled House of Representatives not the senate not the White House.

And you can't use a tiny lever like the funding of the federal government.

-- to get the president of the senate to do the right thing and so they should look for -- opportunities to be successful this question was one block it and move to the next now.

OK so there's a lot of speculation now about this -- about how much people are really gonna feel it in the real lives on people know they're still driving highways and Airways for now on in that it will take some time for what happens with sequestered -- -- taken that you've taken a look.

As something else that is -- -- and real issue that is now going to hit.

Americans in their wallets and in their home budgets what -- they found.

Well we've looked at the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and it is no longer hypothetical it's getting real.

Obamacare cut payments to what are called Medicare Advantage plans.

These -- integrated plan some seniors choose and the kind of dramatically turned the of the proposed cut is 80%.

That's gonna come to somewhere it's going to be in lower benefits are higher premiums are both.

We guess that about a million and a half seniors will lose their coverage at odds with the president's promise that apple could keep -- if they liked it.

They're largely low income and minority so these are the most vulnerable the seniors and in the absence of some sort of change this is going to push more people.

Into the fee for service traditional Medicare program and as -- broken so it's going exactly the wrong direction of the -- Well you know we were told ahead of time that this health care law was about making sure the more people were covered -- health care was more affordable and also the people would be able to keep their plants that point aside.

You know there are those out there who -- they're accused of being conspiracy theorist but that's so many things that are now implementing through the Affordable Care Act.

Are pushing people on two government programs was that the in your estimation was that the final law.

It it was unavoidable from the beginning that there -- going to be a lot of higher costs are higher taxes that are expanded benefits they're requirements the cover sicker people there's no way around the fact that that's would make insurance more expensive.

Had you somehow made medicine itself cheaper in the United States you might have offset that but we didn't and so.

This was always doomed to be very expensive law we're now seeing the reality and it -- -- conspiracy theories but it will certainly -- -- -- -- Right absolutely.

No in dispute about that regardless of what side of the aisle they're on -- -- just way that is playing out that -- taken great to see significant and.

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