Economists warn of financial 'chaos' if Congress fails to raise debt ceiling

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Economists warn of financial 'chaos' if Congress fails to raise debt ceiling
KOMO News

What nation other than the U.S. has a debt "ceiling"?
Has the U.S.' debt ceiling been beneficial? Has it ever prevented congress from spending more?

The warnings are dire.
Who will win this contest? The Democrats that favor Biden's infrastructure spending bill? Or Republicans that want to dial it back?

 

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"If they choose to vote in favor of the default, by the cynical political blame game, it will ultimately be the American People who will pay the price. The American People will know who did this. The Republican senate." Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) 21/09/22

"My advice to this Democratic government, the president, the house, and the senate. Don't play Russian roulette with our economy. Step up and raise the debt ceiling, to cover all that you've been engaged in all year long." Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) 21/09/22

Critics argue the issue of not raising the U.S. federal debt ceiling is not about spending more $money, it's about paying for what has already been committed to by congress by law.

Who is right?
Why?

 

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The U.S. federal debt ceiling hasn't succeeded in accomplishing what those that created it had hoped.

Should congress get rid of the U.S. federal debt ceiling entirely?

And if not on bipartisan basis, should Democrats do so unilaterally?

If not, what?

 

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The important thing about this entire mess is that raising the debt ceiling is not about allowing the gov't to spend more money. It's about allowing the US to actually pay the bills that Congress has already authorized.

 

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Sort of.

As you know congress can out-spend revenues whether there's a debt ceiling or not.

The result is the party out of power uses the debt ceiling as cudgel against the party in power. It's a silly charade that's not fooling anyone. BUT !!

Artificial though the U.S. federal debt ceiling is, the risk it poses is very real. We've been down that road before.

If the skill / competence of a life-long politician like President Biden is an asymmetric bell-curve, Biden seems to have past peak, destined to rapid decline.

Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) observes the Democrats control the house, the senate, & the exec.
If the Dems are smart, they'll do away with the debt limit entirely, for the good of the nation.

 

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The October update:
Comment by some Republicans ostensibly politically allied with Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) indicate McConnell caved to the Dems.

McConnell's a big boy. He knows how to be a successful senate leader. So why -caved-?

Some suspect it was the Dem. threat to dispense with the filibuster rule. Republicans are opposed to eliminating the filibuster rule.

Is it that simple?

And why would a politician as skilled as McConnell "kick the can down the road" for several weeks, only to face the same emergency at the end-of-year holiday season? McConnell prefers "out of the frying pan, into the fire"? If McConnell has a plan for then, why not use that same plan now? What does McConnell think will be different at the next debt ceiling crisis?