White House Standoff Over Debt Ceiling Fiasco -- Who's Winning?

Congress Leaders Huddled With President Obama At the White House Today For a Mexican Standoff Around the Nation’s Debt Ceiling Crisis.

The Republicans are on one side, guns drawn, aiming at the President and Democrats, telling them to cut government spending, or else. The Democrats have their guns pointed at Republicans and Obama while looking to save social benefits programs (Medicare and social security) and raise taxes on those who can afford it. Of course, Obama is in the middle aiming at both pleading for all parties to figure this out or everyone suffers.  

But lately it’s looked like Obama is slightly lowering his aim at Republicans. This morning’s news reports quoted anonymous sources close to the debt negotiations who say Obama is offering trillions of dollars in social security and Medicare cuts. Up to now, these were at the top of the Democrats’ non-negotiables list. Concessions here may look like a fail for them.

Meanwhile, the call for tax hikes on the wealthy for more revenue are getting no love from Republicans. Rumors have leaked all day that Dems might be open to some cuts in Medicare and social security if GOP leaders concede some tax increases but nothing solid has come of that.

Democrats likely won’t lower weapons if the GOP won’t go for higher taxes, so what we we’re faced with is a looming meltdown where the U.S. government can’t pay many of its important bills come August unless our debt ceiling is raised. For a simple, visual breakdown of the debt limit fiasco watch this video.

If the debt ceiling isn’t raised Treasury’s Tim Geithner says “Interest rates will rise. We’ll have to pay more to borrow, if we’re still able to borrow; the cost of borrowing will rise across the country and across the world for every business, every family; equity prices will fall; value of savings will fall; you will see more people out of work, more businesses fail.”

The bi-partisan think tank Third Way paints an even scarier scenario that includes the loss of an additional 642,500 jobs.

So who in the standoff is actually looking out for the best interests of Americans?