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Clarity on the Debt Ceiling

David Ball

The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.

Kevin McCarthy won the votes to become Speaker of the House by promising far-right Republican representatives that he would not agree to raising the debt ceiling without demanding cuts in federal spending. This would hold the government hostage until they got what they wanted.


This mixes together two separate things: the debt ceiling, which must be lifted to enable the government to pay its past debts, and the budget, which is a plan for spending money in the future. Raising the debt ceiling has nothing to do with government spending: it is about protecting the country’s financial health. Refusing to lift it would mean the government could not pay federal workers, veterans, households that depend on Social Security, etc., because it could no longer borrow the funds to do so.

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Save Us From the Debt Limit Crisis

Pelle Lowe

The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.

In an act of legislative negligence, the 117th Congress didn’t raise the debt ceiling when the Democrats controlled the House and Senate.

If they had done their duty, Republican extremists wouldn’t be able to use the debt ceiling threat to force negotiations with what economist Paul Krugman calls “…economic terrorists… A party that barely holds one house of Congress shouldn’t get to impose deeply unpopular policies on the nation as a whole.”

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Top 10 Reasons We Still Need to Win the Georgia Senate Runoff

Michael Dover

The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.

[Here’s a great list of reasons to care about Georgia. It’s from an email from Billy Wimsatt, head of Movement Voter Project, so it’s also a plug for giving to their Georgia Fund, but read it all, especially if you know people who think this runoff isn’t important any more. – Michael]

(1) Save the Senate from the 50-50 power sharing arrangement – This is wonky but important. With 51 votes, Dems will have a one-vote advantage on every Senate committee. This will allow for a faster, less cumbersome process for confirming judges, cabinet members, and passing legislation. In the Senate calendar, wasted time has a huge cost.

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Members

Vote “Yes” on Question #2 to ensure that dental insurance companies pay for dental care.  

The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.

We are voting on four ballot questions this year. I’m writing to recommend we vote “Yes” on Question #2, which requires that insurance companies spend our dollars on actual dental care, instead of executive salaries, corporate profits, and administration. I think patient dollars should be spent on patient care.  

A “Yes” vote on Question #2 would require dental insurance companies to spend at least 83% of our premiums on member dental expenses. And it would protect against increases in dental premiums above the CPI, unless approved by the state.  

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Members

Vote in the Massachusetts Primaries and Tell Your Friends

The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.

Vote in September 6th’s Primary!  Here’s what you need to know (thanks to Anne-Louise Smallen and the Going Bold for Democracy Team)

The Primaries in Massachusetts are September 6 and if you are a registered voter you can cast your vote by mail starting August 17, or vote in person on September 6 at your precinct location.  To find your precinct location, go to https://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/WhereDoIVote.  If you have not registered to vote in Massachusetts, you can do so until August 27 with valid ID, including a driver’s license, ID from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and others too. You can also register online at. https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/   You can also register in person at your Town or City Hall.

Here is a list of the Democratic candidates running in the primaries.