Multimillionaire GOP donor Foster Friess, who famously suggested that women put Aspirin between their knees instead of using contraception, has some equally solid advice for the congressional Republicans who are refusing to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.
In a blog post last week, Friess offered a line for congressional Republicans who deny that defaulting on the nation’s debt by failing to raise the debt ceiling would harm the world economy. Calling a default a “default,” Friess writes, is “over-dramatic nonsense.” Instead, he writes, “why not be honest and say ‘the government wouldn’t be able to pay all of its bills’”:
But why not be honest and say “the government wouldn’t be able to pay all of its bills” rather than the over-dramatic nonsense that “we will default on our debt”?
Friess then offers some creative solutions to lowering the nation’s debt, including asking public employees “if they would enjoy a voluntary unpaid sabbatical” and using the wages not paid to these employees to fund national parks and White House tours:
Did we need to lay out the $13 billion in crony loans to the solar energy investors that also happen to be major Democratic donors? Or, most especially, the billions that the “Affordable” Care Act is going to cost?
What if we asked employees of departments of agriculture, education, and energy if they would enjoy a voluntary unpaid sabbatical for the number of months they would choose? Would that provide enough cash flow to keep the White House tours going and the parks open for the American people?
Friess concludes his analysis by declaring that the US defaulting on its debt would in fact help the country’s credit rating...which might be news to the major credit rating agencies:
The doomsayers have it exactly backwards. Say your personal finances were a mess, so you quit adding debt and cut spending. Your credit score would improve. If you don’t believe me, ask any banker. Why would raising our national debt limit help our credit rating?
Friess’ analysis clearly impressed Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, who quoted the post in his daily Washington Update email yesterday.
