Most years, the federal government spends more than it takes in in taxes, so it has to sell Treasury bonds to cover the difference and pay the country’s bills, up to the limit set by Congress.
👉 When the government reaches that borrowing limit, Congress can either raise the debt ceiling or vote to suspend it for a specific period of time, allowing the Treasury Department to borrow as much as it needs.
👉 Congress has raised the debt ceiling 78 times since 1960—including three times under former President Trump—because failing to raise the limit would cause the US to default on its debt, triggering a global financial crisis.
👉 This is a crisis created by the Republican majority in #Congress which is threatening to blow up the economy unless the #Biden admin and Democratic-controlled Senate agree to dramatically cut $ on child care programs, Medicaid, food assistance, rental assistance, and more.
If Democrats refuse, Republicans have suggested they’ll let the US breach the debt ceiling.
👉 Within a week of breaching the debt ceiling, the US would be unable to pay many of its bills and many programs that Americans rely on would be effectively paused. Interest rates would rise and stock markets would plunge.
👉 An extended breach of the debt ceiling would eliminate more than 7 million jobs and eliminate $10 trillion in American household wealth, according to a report from Moody’s Analytics.
👉 President Biden has called on Republicans to pass a “clean” debt ceiling increase with no spending cuts, as Democrats did three times during the Trump administration, but Republicans have refused.
Spoke with NC doctor for a deep dive on hidden dangers of the abortion ban. GOP leaders said they too spoke to doctors in crafting the bill . "That wasn't a lie," the doctor told us. "We've been speaking with them for almost a year now to educate them. They just didn't listen."
Bill requires 3 in-person visits for medication abortion. Not medically necessary, the doctor told us. Forcing pregnant women to see ultrasound before an abortion? Not medically necessary. In-person consult 72-hours before surgical abortion? Nothing to do with medicine, she said.
The doctor stayed up til 2 a.m. reading the bill the night it was released, she said, writing notes in the margins. So many notes. So many dangerous things. Too many to catch them all. We asked about a provision that caught our eye after like the 10th read. It was one she missed.
According to a report from Moody’s analytics, the bill would “meaningfully increase the likelihood” of a recession and cost the US 780,000 jobs by the end of 2024 if it were to become law.
The poll found that more than 80% of Americans support background checks for gun purchases, raising the legal age to 21 to buy all guns, and a ban on assault weapons.
[THREAD] With former President #Trump's appointees appearing set to overturn abortion rights, @POTUS on Wednesday called Trump's far-right base "the most extreme political organization" in recent American history.
If the @GOP appointees overturn that case, it could effectively outlaw abortion in more than a dozen states immediately, with another dozen or so states likely to follow.
Encouraging more parents to breastfeed in the first few days and months of a child’s life can help enormously, with research showing there’s a lifetime of health benefits for both moms and babies.
But less than 2% of certified lactation consultants are Black even though research shows people respond best to health messages from those of similar backgrounds.
Ok, first clue: You can see the ocean in the background, so no surprise here that this is on our coast. These live oaks flank what was a Confederate fort during the Civil War erected to fortify one of the two locations where the Cape Fear River meets the Atlantic.
Next clue: You can visit this historic site year-round, but the warm months have the added bonus of being near six miles of state-owned beach with no development outside a visitor center and boardwalk.