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Sunday, November 24, 2024

an idle thought

There are still about 48 days or so before Trump Is inaugurated and for all that time Biden is president. As he demonstrated by his decision to release missiles to the Ukrainians, his actions are not limited by the fact that he is a lame-duck. Apparently Americans owe somewhat more than one trillion dollars on their credit cards. .Does Biden have the authority to transfer any significant amount of that debt to federal agencies with much lower fees?  No doubt Trump could cancel that act as soon as he comes to office, but that would be the whole point.  Americans would experience a month and a half of debt relief and then perhaps blame Trump for its reestablishment.


For those of you who like myself obsessively watch television news, it is useful to recall that nobody has yet been appointed to anything because Trump is not yet inaugurated.

20 comments:

David Palmeter said...

I don't believe that Biden has any Constitutional power to transfer a private debt to the government. Even though the government is central to the process of student loans, the Supreme Court has pretty well shot down Biden's attempt to ease the burden of those loans.

Ed said...

NYT Guest editorial declares John Rawls the potential savior of democracy.

"In his epoch-defining treatise “A Theory of Justice,” published in 1971, Rawls set out a humane and egalitarian vision of a liberal society, an alternative both to the toxic blend of neoliberal economics and identity politics that has dominated Democratic thinking in recent decades and the pessimistic anti-liberalism that holds sway among some more radical parts of the left. In this time of crisis for liberalism, it offers an unparalleled, and as yet largely untapped, resource for shaping a broad-based and genuinely transformational progressive politics — not just for Democrats but for center-left parties internationally."

John Pillette said...

The federal government may under the doctrine of “eminent domain” expropriate (with compensation) private property for public use. Disputes in this area usually center on (1) whether the compensation is sufficient and (2) whether the use is sufficiently “public”.

If the debt is actually retired at face value, then there couldn’t be any dispute as to sufficiency of compensation. The “public” use argument is a little more difficult. The large number of people do constitute a “public” and freeing up all this money to be spent on the actual economy would therefore be a public benefit, but we can expect the Fox News right to scream “socialism”! On the other hand, the banks would love it, especially since they would immediately begin the cycle of usury again.

Further, as we learned from the first Trump administration, the use of executive orders are not necessarily limited by liberal timidity (a/k/a “norms”).

But expecting the Biden administration to do this seems like a huge reach. Let’s recall that it was Biden himself who, at the request of the (mostly Delaware-based) consumer lenders, changed the bankruptcy laws to make this kind of debt perpetual. Then again, he seems to have gone completely gaga (what with trying to start WW3 and all) so maybe he won’t remember that.

Anonymous said...

Just a reminder that Biden was known as the 'Senator from MBNA.' He simply does not care one iota about working people.

Christopher J. Mulvaney, Ph.D. said...

As far as I know, eminent domain refers only to the taking of real property, i.e., real estate.

John Pillette said...

You may be right. Eminent domain nearly always involves realty, but I thought that it covers personalty as well: requisitioning ships in emergencies, that sort of thing.

The real problem with the proposal is that it benefits debtors and creditors both; a proposal that benefits the banks alone would have a better chance of success. A scheme that allows the unlucky or imprudent to escape punishment and humiliation is politically unacceptable. To return to liberal-bashing, I would expect not just reactionaries but especially earnest liberals to take to the NYT to chin-stroke and opine (“regretfully”) on the folly of such a morally hazardous proposal.

Danny said...

First: to mention how 'inflation' is debt relief.

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Seen on X

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Michael Llenos said...

This, of course, would be part of a 7th Year Relaxation of Debt. Here is the scripture passage:

Deuteronomy 15:1-6
King James Version

15 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord's release.

3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;

4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:

5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

6 For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

aaall said...

Comparing Trump's proposed economic appointees (somewhat reasonable) with the law enforcement/national security/diplomatic ones is interesting and disturbing. Seems Vlad, Jared, and Bibi have had some input.

s. wallerstein said...

Biden has no interest in people with credit card debt. His only interest is pardoning his corrupt tax-evading son. Let's get real. Biden is better than Trump, but the fact that he's better than Trump does not mean that he's a particularly admirable human being or that we can expect anything positive from him.

Jerry Fresia said...

My idle thought: here's something Biden could do that would strike a blow for justice, is within his power and is irreversible, at the same time that it would brighten what otherwise will be a terribly sad legacy: pardon Leonard Peltier.

Danny said...

The son is a political target, so I'm not having this bad reaction to the pardon. The New Republic is calling it the worst form of corruption, not even Hunter Biden's crimes are remotely the worst form of corruption. Or 'crimes' -- tax evasion, though trumped up, he didn't owe any money, and gun charges, over a gun that he owned for several days -- never loaded. Felony charges over this? Seems ludicrous. I mean, maybe we have some sort of standards about who to pardon but I'm not sure exactly what they are -- this pardon can be construed as 'justice'.

John Rapko said...

I stumbled on an article in the World Socialist Web Site on the pardon, and which gives a bit of historical context. The article unsurprisingly treats it as part of "the decay and crisis of the US political system". There's a nice phrase characterizing Biden welcoming Trump to the White House as "a mixture of servility and senility". The last paragraphs document the (hitherto unknown to me) great decline in the number of presidential pardons: Biden's doled out 26, whereas in the 20th century through Truman 1000-2000 was typical: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/12/03/oylu-d03.html

David Zimmerman said...

Hear, hear.....

David Zimmerman said...

Lucian Truscott in Salon
"Joe Biden has his work cut out for him. He should empower an entire staff in the White House to begin working on blanket pardons for all the people mentioned above, plus members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who were involved in the two Trump impeachments and the House Jan. 6 committee.
"The Biden pardon team should also take a serious look at the many reporters, columnists, and television news hosts who have stood up to Trump over the last eight years. That is another long list of people that Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute for simply doing their jobs as reporters, commentators, and cable news hosts.
That old aphorism “when they go low, we go high” was bullshit when it entered the political lexicon, and it’s a guarantee of a prison sentence at this point. There is no high road in the age of Donald Trump and his MAGA team of toadies and lackeys who are sworn to carry out the campaign of retribution Trump demands.
"The Democratic Party isn’t just a political party anymore. It is an association of Americans who are under attack merely for their political beliefs. Loyalty to the Constitution and swearing to uphold its rights and guarantees of freedom has been turned into a crime by Donald Trump. People like Elon Musk and Leonard Leo are probably adding names to the list of enemies they would like to see behind bars for committing various “crimes” that aren’t crimes at all.
Nobody is safe. Trump has promised to build internment camps for undocumented immigrants he has declared war against. You won’t have to lack an American passport or work permit to be ushered into the walls of those camps once they’re built.
"Trump has gone to war against the America we have known. We don’t need to ask ourselves what this country has done to deserve the war Trump has planned against us. Biden needs to deploy his pardon power as a weapon in that war, and the Democratic Party needs to start recruiting not only followers but fighters. This is going to be an ugly four years, and it is way past time to prepare ourselves."