Plus: Mass shooting math, Putin's Victory Day and more. Bloomberg
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an invitation to compromise on Bloomberg Opinionâs opinions. [Sign up here](. Todayâs Agenda - How to raise the [debt ceiling](.
- How to stop [mass shootings](.
- How to not win [a war](. Project X Pizza Party This afternoon, President Joe Biden hosted a soiree with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and friends in hopes of resolving [the whole debt ceiling debacle](. As I write, [the meeting]( is still happening, so nobody knows what will come of it. But what Iâm really wondering is: Are there snacks? It began at 4 p.m., so I assume everyone had eaten lunch. Then again: These people are busy! Maybe there are light bites. Or maybe, after a few hours of chatting, they will decide to order in some pizza. I imagine thatâd go something like this: President Biden: Say, Kevin, weâre not going to get anywhere on an empty stomach. Why donât we get some pizza? Kevin McCarthy: Hmm. I usually shy away from ordering pizza to the office ⦠I still have nightmares from [what happened in January](. But sure, why not. I could go for a slice or two. Biden: Wonderful. Let me pull up Uber Eats ⦠Iâm pepperoni pie kinda guy. McCarthy: Great. Cheese is fine for me. Biden: You got it, boss. Placed the order! 45 minutes and two Lactaid pills later⦠McCarthy: Looks like the pizza is here! Iâll grab you a slice, Mr. President. [muffled voices] ⦠oh, wait. They didnât cut the pizza? Agh. Let me cut yours. Biden: Thatâs quite alright. I am perfectly capable of cutting my own pizza, Kevin. McCarthy: Uh, okay sure. *hands Biden a knife and watches him, incredulously, cut the pizza* Biden: See how I did mine, Kevin? Itâs all about [preserving the pepperoni](. McCarthy: Oh. Um, wow. Thatâs something. Biden: Let me see yours. McCarthy: Sure, give me a second. Kevin [cuts his pizza]( and sets it down next to the presidentâs ... Illustration: Jessica Karl Okay, okay. Those pizzas are a serious oversimplification of whatâs actually happening with the debt ceiling. But the absurdly cut slices do help illustrate just how differently Biden and McCarthy view the federal deficit, which is rapidly approaching the danger zone â AKA a â[catastrophic technical default](.â The Biden administration wishes to keep the pepperoni intact by extending the borrowing limit with no strings attached. But House Republicans claim the government [can save $4.8 trillion]( over 10 years by slicing the pie in a way that cuts into a number of government-funded efforts. This would involve scrapping many of Bidenâs trademark policy initiatives, like [student loan forgiveness](, [plans to bolster the IRS]( and [climate-change tax credits](. Although Bloombergâs editorial board says the Republican proposal â[is hardly an invitation to compromise](,â it still âdoesnât relieve Biden of the duty to negotiate.â If the president fails to propose spending cuts that are in line with his partyâs priorities, Bill Dudley argues that the country â and the economy â [may start to incur irreparable damages](. Even if todayâs pizza party doesnât result in a compromise, John Authers says [weâre not headed for a constitutional crisis anytime soon](: âThis has happened before, and the worst has always been avoided,â he writes. Despite this, [markets are starting to worry]( that the US might actually breach its borrowing limit. âThe X-date,â itâs called â when the government runs out of options to fund itself â is what nightmares are made of, and Treasury Secretary [Janet Yellen]( is thinking it could be here by the first of June. Cue [the panic]( on Wall Street: Whether a default will happen is up to Biden and [McCarthy](. David A. Hopkins says the two âcan choose to treat their dispute as an opportunity for substantive deal-making â [or use it to try and humiliate their political opponents](.â As it stands, both of their pizza-cutting techniques are more pathetic than [a St. Louis bagel](, and thatâs saying something. Perhaps they can cut the pie like a normal person and put an end to this madness, for the sanity of the nation â and Papa John, who was last seen crying in a corner next to a pile of discarded stuffed crusts. Shooting Sprees Youâre not just imagining things: There have been way more mass shootings in the US this year than in years past. The first five months of 2023 have been horrifyingly violent: Through a series of charts, maps and data points, Brooke Sample and Elaine He illustrate [just how dire Americaâs gun crisis has gotten](. âAcross the US, satisfaction with existing gun laws has been on a downward trend with members of both parties,â they write, noting that half of Texans would prefer to see their lawmakers [enact stricter gun laws]( to stop the killing sprees that have been plaguing the state. Some Americans say they [have even resigned themselves to spend their days indoors](, opting not to find out whether death may greet them at the grocery store or the movie theater. It feels as though every other day weâre waking up to another slaughter. Last weekend it was [a massacre at a Texas mall](. Voters want their elected officials to stop the bloodshed. If only they would listen. A Not-So-Victorious Day Itâs giving Hunger Games. Photographer: Gavriil Grigorov/AFP It is a bit awkward that Vladimir Putin threw a World War II Victory Day celebration in the middle of a war his own people think [heâs losing](, but I guess thatâs life! Or poetic irony, you pick. Leonid Bershidsky says the Russian president has little to cheer because âhardly anyone, apart from his suppressed, docile population, is scared of him anymore.â In his speech, Putin said the West has unleashed â[a real war](â against Russia, but what he failed to mention is that itâs a war of his own creation. âIn just a year of a criminal, fratricidal, ill-conceived and poorly-run military campaign, he has single-handedly set Russia back in every respect,â Leonid argues. Just today, the US Defense Department handed Ukraine a [$1.2 billion-dollar package]( to bolster its air defenses and ammunition supplies. Russia is on the defensive, struggling to hold on to the few regions it has captured: At this point, it feels as though Russiaâs president has more critics than brain cells. Even the head of the Wagner Groupâs mercenary army has [turned against him](: Yevgeny Prigozhin told his digital audience âour soldiers are getting killed and the happy grandpa thinks heâs doing well.â Calling somebody a happy grandpa honestly might be one of the sickest burns Iâve ever heard. The Russian leader is left with nothing but empty threats: âInstead of a range of escalatory options, he only appears capable of, literally, the nuclear option â one that might doom his regime, and perhaps Russia itself,â Leonid warns. Read [the whole thing](. Further Listening âTo really critically look at Black history means to hold up a mirror to America that some people don't want to look at. They'd rather have a mirror without a reflection."
Marlon Williams-Clark
High school social studies teacher in Florida
Tim OâBrien dives into one of the deepest flash points in the US culture wars â public school classrooms â on the latest episode of [Crash Course](, â[DeSantis Has Thoughts About Floridaâs Young Minds](." Further Reading Cruise ships might be [recession-proof](. â Jonathan Levin Goldman Sachs â and the entire banking industry â [owes women much more]( than $215 million. â Paul J. Davies Fox fired Tucker Carlson. Voters fired Donald Trump. But [the GOP still relies on both](. â Tara Setmayer We donât know enough about the impact of [social media]( on young brains. â Lisa Jarvis The global [electricity sector]( is about to get less deadly. â Liam Denning Making banks safer and *making people believe* banks are safer [are at odds](. â Clive Crook [Syriaâs return to the Arab League]( is a disaster. â Bobby Ghosh ICYMI Trump was [found liable]( for sexual assault. [Birth control]( might be OTC this summer. The end of [Title 42]( is near. The end of [airline Twitter]( is near. The end of [Wendyâs drive-through line]( is near. Kickers Italy is investigating its [pasta crisis](. 79-year-old Robert De Niro had [a baby](. 4,000 words about [Khloé Kardashian's pantry](. Minnesota honors Prince with [a highway](. (h/t Mike Nizza) Area fisherman [caught a car]( instead of a black bass. Notes: Please send Robert De Niroâs seventh child and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox.
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