PRESIDENT Biden on Sunday, speaking in Hiroshima, the scene of a US-UK atom bombing, was forced to address the US banking crisis and whether he could use anti-democratic dictatorial methods to raise the USA’s debt limit without an Act of Congress.
He said that he had the authority to use the 14th Amendment to unilaterally address the debt ceiling, but he acknowledged there would be potential legal challenges that could still lead the USA to default and massive unemployment of both the working class and the middle class.
He insisted: ‘I’m looking at the 14th Amendment as to whether or not we have the authority – I think we have the authority. The question is, could it be done and invoked in time that it would not be appealed, and as a consequence pass the date in question and still default on the debt. That is a question that I think is unresolved.’
Biden added that all four congressional leaders said in a recent White House meeting that they agreed the nation would not default, signalling that he hoped talk of the 14th Amendment would ultimately not be necessary.
‘So I’m assuming that we mean what we say and we’ll figure out a way to not have to default,’ Biden said.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department has warned the US could default as early as June 1st if no action is taken to raise the debt ceiling.
The 14th Amendment says the public debt ‘shall not be questioned’, which proponents of the idea argue means the president could unilaterally continue to issue debt if Congress does not act, until the USA sinks to the bottom into total bankruptcy, bringing the whole of the world down with it.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously warned that using the 14th Amendment could trigger a ‘constitutional crisis’, calling it ‘one of the not good options’ if Congress failed to act.
President Biden on Sunday called on Republican lawmakers to compromise in the ongoing budget and debt ceiling talks, warning that their current position is too extreme and cannot pass through a completely divided Congress.
Democrat Biden warned that he would not accept Republicans’ existing proposals as the US inches closer to the edge of the default cliff.
‘Now it’s time for the other side to move from their extreme positions, because much of what they’ve already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable,’ Biden said in opening remarks at the press conference.
He threatened: ‘I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealth tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistance at risk for nearly one million Americans,’ Biden continued. ‘It is time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely on their partisan terms. They have to move as well. All four congressional leaders agree with me that default is not an option. And I expect each of these leaders to live up to that commitment.’
Biden was scheduled to talk with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the phone during the president’s plane ride back to Washington, DC, on Sunday to try to make a deal.
He is also investing in the alternative to a US economic collapse and that is starting a new world war with Russia, China, Iran and numerous other states as targets for destruction to pay for the crisis of US capitalism.
We have already seen this crisis lead to galloping inflation, shortages and hunger in even the most advanced countries, and now Biden wants to see mountains of corpses.
Consequently, Biden on Sunday announced an additional round of military assistance for Ukraine during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Japan.
Biden said the $375 million aid package would include ammunition, artillery and armoured vehicles to bolster Ukraine’s efforts to fight back against Russia’s invasion. He added: ‘The United States continues to help Ukraine respond, recover, and rebuild. And we’re also supporting your pursuit of a just peace – just one aspect of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.’ Biden concluded: ‘It has to be non-negotiable. It just has to happen.’
The workers of the world, particularly in the USA, the UK, the EU must rise up to prevent the bosses dumping the whole weight of their crisis onto the working class of the world and the anti-capitalist nations. Instead of a new world war, the working class of the world must complete the World Socialist Revolution begun in Russia in 1917, to see the Red Flag flying in Paris, London and Washington.
