Krueger: Debt ceiling breach like 'Sharknado'

Outgoing White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Alan Krueger has added a new worst case scenario to the list of what could happen later this year if Congress fails to raise the debt limit: sharks falling from the sky.

On Monday, Krueger reiterated the White House position that President Barack Obama will not negotiate over raising the borrowing limit and that failure to do so will hurt the economy and, in particular, the middle class.

Continue Reading

Krueger: Obama 'really consistent' on economic policy

The idea of breaching the borrowing cap was ?unthinkable,? Krueger said, and he drew comparisons to the recent Syfy movie ?Sharknado? in which a freak storm leads to thousands of sharks terrorizing people on land and in the water.

(PHOTOS: Playbook Lunch with Alan Krueger)

?You have this tornado which brings sharks and they land on people?s heads,? he joked at POLITICO?s Playbook Lunch event. ?I think if we cross the debt limit, it would be worse for the financial sector.?

House Republicans and the White House are preparing for another battle later this year over raising the government?s borrowing limit with the GOP pushing for deficit reduction measures to be included in any deal. The administration has said it will not negotiate over the debt ceiling and Kruger declined to map out how the administration would pressure House Republicans to act as well as how a government shutdown can be avoided when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

?What the administration wants is what?s in the interest of the middle class,? Krueger said.

The Treasury Department has said that the country will likely reach its borrowing cap after Labor Day but has not provided a specific date. The administration has repeatedly urged lawmakers to avoid waiting until the last minute to take action.

Krueger did not elaborate on when the government may reach its debt limit beyond what the Treasury has previously said, noting that an exact date is difficult to pinpoint.

The 52-year-old economist is preparing to leave the White House this week to return to teaching at Princeton University. Obama has nominated Jason Furman, currently the principal deputy director of the National Economic Council, to replace Krueger.

During an hour long interview looking back on his time at the White House and on the economic challenges that lay ahead, Krueger said Obama has not given up on reaching a so-called ?grand bargain? debt and deficit deal with congressional Republicans.

?The president?s last offer to Speaker [John] Boehner is still on the table,? he said. ?I think he had a very sensible balanced compromise on the table.?

Krueger also noted that a compromise deal may have to be reached in a piecemeal fashion and that the deficit has been dropping in recent months so there should be more room for the government to renew efforts to help the sluggish economy.

The president has recently embarked on a series of speeches that focus on the economy and the middle class with the next one scheduled for Tuesday at an Amazon fulfillment center in Chattanooga, Tenn. The speeches so far have emphasized past proposals and Obama?s argument for why more needs to be done to help the middle class.

Krueger declined to say whether Obama?s Tuesday speech would contain new proposals.

?The president?s been really consistent,? he said. ?I think what you?ll see is the president emphasizing the steps Congress could take today to help strengthen the middle class.?

Another item item on this week?s economic agenda is the Friday release of the monthly jobs report, which is closely monitored as an indicator of economic strength. Krueger said at the POLITICO event on Monday that a lot of people ? including the media ? tend to ?make too much out of the monthly numbers,? and that he tries to look at the longer term, 12-month trend.

He also acknowledged that he has put out a similarly worded statement about a healing economy every month during his tenure as chairman of the CEA.

?Sometimes I get criticized for being lazy and not updating that statement, but my view is that when that stops being true, I?ll change it,? he said.

Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/alan-krueger-debt-ceiling-breach-like-sharknado-94862.html

London 2012 Soccer Olympics closing ceremony PGA Championship 2012 John Witherspoon george michael usain bolt Closing Ceremony London 2012