Ben Carson Doesn't Appear to Understand The Debt Ceiling

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

DaisyDay said:
It seems pretty obvious that neither he nor you understand the debt ceiling problem...

Apparently, I understand it better than you, or Amanuensis.

Do you believe that when a balanced budget is maintained ... that raising the debt ceiling will be necessary?

DaisyDay said:
...or how much the President actually controls the budget.

LOL ... we've had that discussion numerous times on this very forum. I've noticed that Democrats always give Bill Clinton credit for the balanced budget during his administration ... while blaming Republicans under Obama. Funny how that works.

DaisyDay said:
Are you accusing CNN and Kai Rysdall with colluding on a "gotcha" question?

Nah ... he works for American Public Media ... the largest owner of public radio stations in the country. CNN just jumped immediately on the bandwagen ... in order to bash Carson.

amanuensis63 · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
Noting that people who live within their budget don't get hit with overdraft charges.

Good answer! It shows you will do whatever it takes to justify ANYTHING Ben Carson utters. If you can't answer the question as asked, we know you do not eve believe your own defense of Ben!

LOL!

Thanks for proving this point!

amanuensis63 · Oct 9, 2015

stamperben said:
He won't answer as he thinks anything other than a question from an approved (by him) conservative source is a "gotcha" question.

Stamper, I knew he wouldn't! It's just funny to watch a Conservative squirm.

The frustrating part about NHE is, that he probably thinks he's "fooling" people with this footwork. Just like his disingenuous attempts to tell people how they are in agreement with him by twisting their words and then lambasting them for getting annoyed with the twisting.

He doesn't believe what he's saying about Carson or he'd answer the question as asked!

It's pretty funny. But sad at the same time.

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

amanuensis63 said:
Stamper, I knew he wouldn't! It's just funny to watch a Conservative squirm.

The frustrating part about NHE is, that he probably thinks he's "fooling" people with this footwork. Just like his disingenuous attempts to tell people how they are in agreement with him by twisting their words and then lambasting them for getting annoyed with the twisting.

He doesn't believe what he's saying about Carson or he'd answer the question as asked!

It's pretty funny. But sad at the same time.

What's sad is your diversionary tactics to focus on me rather than the topic at hand.

It seems that the only argument you have is not about Ben Carson ... but about me. Just weird ...

amanuensis63 · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
despite the FACT that Carson not one time in the interview mentioned "debt ceiling".

Let's assume that Carson was asked about nuclear physics and he hadn't a clue. So he answered by talking about about magic fields and kittens.

That doesn't mean he understood the question. IN FACT, the evidence is such that he didn't understand the question because the interviewer EXPLAINED THE QUESTION TO HIM AND ASKED IT AGAIN.

Instead, he addressed the root problem ... which was not at all what CNN was hoping to get from the interview. So sad for them ...

Wow. You are really doubling down on Time Travel.

Good luck with that! Because that's the ONLY WAY Carson answered the question.

YOU CANNOT DEAL WITH A DEBT YOU OWN TODAY BY TELLING US HOW YOU WON'T INCUR THE DEBT IN THE FUTURE.

(Hopefully this little FYI will help you. Remember, maybe you think Ben Carson can travel through time, but you can't. So if you incur a debt and you are asked if you are going to pay it, the RIGHT response is not "I won't incur that debt again in the future!")

Although it is funny to see how you play with this. You must really like Ben Carson. Did he promise you a Cabinet position or something? I bet you'd be just the kind of best and brightest he's looking for!

It would probably be impossible to know LESS about these topics than Ben! So everyone he selects will be great in comparison!

amanuensis63 · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
What's sad is your diversionary tactics to focus on me rather than the topic at hand.

I asked you a question to see if you actually believed in the defense you made of Ben Carson. Clearly you don't.

It seems that the only argument you have is not about Ben Carson ... but about me. Just weird ...

No, my argument is Ben Carson didn't understand the question. That's pretty clear. Now I"m trying to figure out why you think he did. And again it has been shown clearly that you don't actually believe he actually did or you would answer the question as asked.

I really can't stress this enough, NHE: If someone comes to you with a bill for a dinner you just ate and you are asked if you are going to pay for it you cannot simply answer that you won't ever order THAT food again!

Trust me, this advice could save you a LOT of hassle.

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

amanuensis63 said:
YOU CANNOT DEAL WITH A DEBT YOU OWN TODAY BY TELLING US HOW YOU WON'T INCUR THE DEBT IN THE FUTURE.

In financial terms that's a sunk cost. Now, the interviewer, if he'd wanted to be honest might have asked how Carson planned to pay down the National Debt ... but we both know he didn't do that. Instead, he focused on the niche issue of "debt ceiling" ... and was non-specific about even that.

Carson gave a brilliant answer which was simply to balance the budget. Again, the interviewer could have gone in several legitimate directions with that answer ... but instead just insisted on sticking with his original generic version. He did his listeners a great disservice by either not understanding the implications of Carson's answer or being deliberately disingenuous. Not that it matter much which way it was.

amanuensis63 said:
(Hopefully this little FYI will help you. Remember, maybe you think Ben Carson can travel through time, but you can't. So if you incur a debt and you are asked if you are going to pay it, the RIGHT response is not "I won't incur that debt again in the future!")

Noting again that the interviewer didn't ask about bringing down the National Debt ... which is what you are talking about ... but instead kept talking about raising the "debt ceiling". Hopefully, that point is clear to you now.

Let me know if you would like further explanation.

stamperben · Oct 9, 2015

Since you're in the "further explanation" mood, how about explaining who the "political elite" are. We know it is more than George HW Bush.

Maren · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
In financial terms that's a sunk cost. Now, the interviewer, if he'd wanted to be honest might have asked how Carson planned to pay down the National Debt ... but we both know he didn't do that. Instead, he focused on the niche issue of "debt ceiling" ... and was non-specific about even that.

Carson gave a brilliant answer which was simply to balance the budget. Again, the interviewer could have gone in several legitimate directions with that answer ... but instead just insisted on sticking with his original generic version. He did his listeners a great disservice by either not understanding the implications of Carson's answer or being deliberately disingenuous. Not that it matter much which way it was.

Noting again that the interviewer didn't ask about bringing down the National Debt ... which is what you are talking about ... but instead kept talking about raising the "debt ceiling". Hopefully, that point is clear to you now.

Let me know if you would like further explanation.

Sorry, this just doesn't work. Worse, it gives us no clue of what Carson will actually do if he should win the presidency.

First, when the debt ceiling is inevitably raised in November, I feel certain they will make it so the next debt ceiling vote will not occur until around March of 2017 -- a couple of months after the new president has been sworn in. They won't want a debt ceiling vote coming up in the middle of a presidential campaign. Since the budget (or continuing resolution to fund the government) for FY 2017 will be passed before the new president takes office, there is no way for the incoming President to control the budget the first year -- he absolutely will be faced with raising the debt limit.

Further, with politicians trying to play politics with the debt ceiling, I find this an important question to ask of the person who is wanting to be responsible at time the next debt ceiling vote comes up. This isn't a "Gotcha question" -- this is a real like issue that will be faced by the next president; with likely no way to avoid it.

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

Maren said:
Sorry, this just doesn't work. Worse, it gives us no clue of what Carson will actually do if he should win the presidency.

First, when the debt ceiling is inevitably raised in November, I feel certain they will make it so the next debt ceiling vote will not occur until around March of 2017 -- a couple of months after the new president has been sworn in. They won't want a debt ceiling vote coming up in the middle of a presidential campaign. Since the budget (or continuing resolution to fund the government) for FY 2017 will be passed before the new president takes office, there is no way for the incoming President to control the budget the first year -- he absolutely will be faced with raising the debt limit.

Further, with politicians trying to play politics with the debt ceiling, I find this an important question to ask of the person who is wanting to be responsible at time the next debt ceiling vote comes up. This isn't a "Gotcha question" -- this is a real like issue that will be faced by the next president; with likely no way to avoid it.

The argument you present is self-defeating, Maren.

You want Ben Carson to do something about the debt ceiling being raised both before he gets into office and immediately after assuming office? Illogical. There's not much to be done really. As already stated, it's a sunk cost at that point. What he can do is submit a balanced budget and fight to ensure its passage. :oldthumbsup:

Noting that submitting a balanced budget is something which should really have been done by the current administration ... but, hey, that's a sunk cost.

Maren · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
The argument you present is self-defeating, Maren.

You want Ben Carson to do something about the debt ceiling being raised both before he gets into office and immediately after assuming office? Illogical. There's not much to be done really. As already stated, it's a sunk cost at that point. What he can do is submit a balanced budget and fight to ensure its passage.

Noting that submitting a balanced budget is something which should really have been done by the current administration ... but, hey, that's a sunk cost.

Not at all what I said. I said the question is valid because it will give us insight into how he will handle it, and he will need to handle it, if he wins the election and becomes President. Again, this has turned into a political issue and, due to Congress playing politics, has caused our credit rating to drop.

If the answer were that easy, as you claim, why didn't Carson just say that he would raise the debt limit if he needed to early in his Presidency, but then work for balanced budgets to ensure it never needs to be raised again? If the answer really is that easy, that is the obvious one. The fact that he refused to answer the question makes it appear he either doesn't understand the debt ceiling or is considering playing politics with it.

amanuensis63 · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
In financial terms that's a sunk cost. Now, the interviewer, if he'd wanted to be honest might have asked how Carson planned to pay down the National Debt

That's hilarious! I'm sorry, but the question is a regular question. It relates to a REAL WORLD example of something happening NEXT MONTH in the US government. There is no need to ask a DIFFERENT question.

Ben had spent the previous 3 minutes or so explaining how he'd reconfigure the budget. This was a different question.

Instead, he focused on the niche issue of "debt ceiling"

I like the fact you call it a "niche" issue. Many economists think it quite serious. ANd the Tea Party actually got America's Credit Rating decreased the last time they played this game

THIS is why this is an important question. It is imperative to know if the guy running for the Presidency of the US actually thinks the US credit rating is valuable or if he agrees that it should be held hostage to some ideology.

Carson gave a brilliant answer

LOL! Yes, "Brilliant". By NOT EVEN ANSWERING THE QUESTION!

If you think that's brilliant then I'm certain you will not be disappointed putting your vote there for Ben or Trump.

Again, the interviewer could have gone in several legitimate directions

He asked a simple question about a real-world issue that many are actually rather worried about!

ONLY YOU and Ben Carson don't seem to care about this! Ben probably because he doesn't understand it and you because you apparently will defend Ben's incompetence at all costs!

(Again, you don't need to keep up the charade. I mean we already know you don't believe your excuses for Ben or you'd answer my question about debts already incurred! LOL!)

amanuensis63 · Oct 9, 2015

Maren said:
Not at all what I said. I said the question is valid because it will give us insight into how he will handle it

We all know how Ben will handle it. Ben will be confused until someone who knows what a debt ceiling is comes in and explains it to him in simple terms (Ben isn't an economist, he's a surgeon who has never held public office). At that point Ben will agree that the debt ceiling MUST be raised.

Ryssdal's question is very important only insofar as it shows how far Ben would be willing to play footsy with default to make a political statement. Only the Tea Party are crazy enough to actually WANT the US to default.

NOW, if Ben had actually answered the question and said he'd let it lapse and drive the country into default to show his support of Tea Party radicals we'd be in REAL trouble.

Ben says every nutjob thing that comes into his brain. The fact that he DIDN'T answer this one indicates one of two things:

1. he doesn't understand the debt ceiling

2. his advisors have STRICTLY told him to NOT let anyone know how crazy he actually is.

And since he's already blessed us with his Prison Theory of Gayness I'm guessing NO ONE tells Ben to hide the crazy. So It's probably #1.

Hank77 · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
Ben Carson saw the gotcha question for what it was and addressed the root cause of the problem in clear, unequivocal terms.

There was nothing 'gotcha' about that question. Unfortunately Carson chose not to answer it and now it has become a 'gotcha' for him. Just like Palin not answering a simple question from KC. Except we know that Carson is not an average IQ person so we cannot put his evasion off to lack of intelligence like we could Palin.

amanuensis63 said:
That doesn't mean he understood the question. IN FACT, the evidence is such that he didn't understand the question because the interviewer EXPLAINED THE QUESTION TO HIM AND ASKED IT AGAIN.

I believe he knew exactly what he was being asked and chose to evade. That does not sit well with me. He is playing games and I don't like it at all.

NightHawkeye said:
Again, the interviewer could have gone in several legitimate directions with that answer ... but instead just insisted on sticking with his original generic version. He did his listeners a great disservice by either not understanding the implications of Carson's answer or being deliberately disingenuous. Not that it matter much which way it was.

It doesn't matter what the journalist was trying to do. Carson should be smart enough to be able to answer the question directly and explain why AND state what his solution is to avoiding raising the ceiling in the future.

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

This is absolutely hilarious. People crawling all over themselves to criticize Ben Carson for refusing to get sucked into the language of the current political elite who have developed their own vernacular to avoid solving problems.

He said what he would do ... balance the budget. He said clearly. He said it articulately. He reiterated it. There is absolutely no confusion about what Ben Carson will do to resolve the "debt ceiling" problems the nation has been experiencing year after year.

He said it will not continue. The budget will be balanced. That's what real people do, btw. Real people don't develop their own vernacular to avoid solving problems. They simply solve the problems.

DaisyDay · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
This is absolutely hilarious. People crawling all over themselves to criticize Ben Carson for refusing to get sucked into the language of the current political elite who have developed their own vernacular to avoid solving problems.

He said what he would do ... balance the budget. He said clearly. He said it articulately. He reiterated it. There is absolutely no confusion about what Ben Carson will do to resolve the "debt ceiling" problems the nation has been experiencing year after year.

He said it will not continue. The budget will be balanced. That's what real people do, btw. Real people don't develop their own vernacular to avoid solving problems. They simply solve the problems.

Well, even though you insist you understand, you demonstrate no understanding of the actual situation at all. The evidence is against you.

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

DaisyDay said:
Well, even though you insist you understand, you demonstrate no understanding of the actual situation at all. The evidence is against you.

ROTFL ... bring on the evidence.

Exhibit #1:

I'm going with balanced budget. :oldthumbsup:

Exhibit #2:

Question: Who knows what BBA stands for?

AceHero · Oct 9, 2015

grasping the after wind said:
Trying to imply that a man of Carson's well documented intellect was somehow too dense to understand the silliness that is called the debt ceiling is far fetched indeed.

Examples, please.

ecco · Oct 9, 2015

NightHawkeye said:
34 States Call for Constitutional Convention | Newsmax
House Speaker John Boehner is reviewing...

Constitutional amendments are added from time to time when enough momentum exists to compel action.

Did you notice the date of the article?

Friday, 11 Apr 2014 04:57 PM

I guess no one is really interested in pushing for a Constitutional Amendment for a balanced budget.

NightHawkeye · Oct 9, 2015

ecco said:
Did you notice the date of the article?

Friday, 11 Apr 2014 04:57 PM

I did ... but you asked for information.

Noting that the number of states calling for a convention is the important part ... and that is necessarily expected to occur over an extended period of time ... which it did.

ecco said:
I guess no one is really interested in pushing for a Constitutional Amendment for a balanced budget.

Noting that Boehner's ouster has been called for some years now as well.

Nothing further that calling for a convention of the states has been on John Boehner's calender, which is to say, he was stalling on doing so. He was an impediment to the convention of the states ... an impediment which is in the process of being cleared out of the way.

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