As Brandon prepares to pat himself on the back for how great the economy is supposedly doing right now, the CEO of America’s second-largest bank is preparing for America to default on the national debt.
That would be Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, which is America’s second-largest bank. He told CNN’s Poppy Harlow in a Monday interview on “CNN This Morning” that, though he hopes lawmakers resolve their issues and deal with the debt and debt ceiling, their defaulting on the country’s debt remains a possibility that cannot be ignored. Speaking on that, he said:
“We have to be prepared for that, not only in this country but in other countries around the world. You hope it doesn’t happen, but hope is not a strategy — so you prepare for it.”
Continuing, Moynihan went on to say that he is not supportive of the idea to get rid of the debt ceiling entirely, saying that “there’s got to be an argument about how we make sure we live within our means as a country.”
He then added that “Congress has the purse strings. I would be careful about trying to restructure the US Constitution. I think we should leave it alone and make sure it operates correctly.”
He did, however, concede that public necessity dictated higher spending during the Covid pandemic, saying “a lot of debt over the past couple of years to overcome the pandemic drag on the economy.”
So he supports having a debt ceiling…just not sticking it if some people get a cough and the government wants to make trillions. One would hope the CEO of such a large bank would be more rational than that and understand the importance of sticking to a budget in good times and bad…but apparently not.
Then, being a banker and showing what Wall Street really thinks of Main Street, he went on to describe low unemployment being low is a problem, saying“The unemployment rate has stayed very low. Extremely low. That’s one of the challenges for the Fed.”
He also took a pro-free trade stance, a stance that many on the right claim is responsible for the hollowing out of the heartland thanks to the vacuum cleaner of globalization, saying when asked about the budding US-China conflict:
“It’s interesting to watch the shadowboxing between these two countries. But the best thing in the world is to have free trade.”
Regardless of his bad takes on the debt ceiling and China, Moynihan does have a point about a default on the debt being something of a possibility. The debt ceiling has been reached and President Joe Biden has said that he will not negotiate with Republicans and cut spending in exchange for yet another increase in the debt ceiling, so it’s possible that the Republicans could be backed into a corner and refuse to negotiate either.
Still, thanks to the number of RINOs in the Republican contingent, the razor-thin GOP majority in Congress, and the lack of will to embark on true austerity measures, a default seems less likely than another debt ceiling increase and yet more deficit spending.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
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