The lack of fiscal responsibility by US governments has been pretty disappointing. This includes local, state, and the federal government.
I understand that since the USD is the current reserve currency, it gives us a bit more flexibility with regards to debt, but it doesn't seem wise to abuse this over the long term. We've normalized taking on huge amounts of debt that I don't see ever being paid back, it only keeps increasing.
I'm not sure what the solution is, or what the consequences will be, but it gives me an uneasy feeling that at some point in the future, the US will default and economic problems will ensue.
All it takes is US Congress to vote to raise the limit. This is McCarthy's Republican house hoping that Biden would get blamed, and any consequences to everyone else don't matter.
> So why is McCarthy doing this? He was happy to raise the debt ceiling 2017-2018.
Because unlike in 2017, Republicans don’t hold the White House and the Senate, so McCarthy is grabbing on to any source of leverage on other issues that Republicans in the House wouldn’t need if their party controlled the rest of government.
No. It takes the president signing it after Congress passes it.
So if I understand correctly, McCarthy wants to pass a bill to raise the limit (along with some other stuff), and the president says he'll veto it (because of the other stuff). Who do you blame for that?
And if your answer is "Congress", do you blame Congress all the other times they pass bills with "some other stuff" in them? If not, why do you blame them this time?
US default on the debt would be unconstitutional. Clearly and explicitly. If other laws make it impossible to pay our debt, at least one of those other laws is invalid in that application. Maybe that's the debt ceiling. Maybe that's something stopping us from monetizing some portion of the debt. Maybe something else, though not arbitrarily seizing property because that's otherwise protected by the Constitution.
I'm not claiming any of these are good options, but "the debt ceiling will make us default" seems incorrect and irresponsible.
11 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 32.9 ms ] threadI understand that since the USD is the current reserve currency, it gives us a bit more flexibility with regards to debt, but it doesn't seem wise to abuse this over the long term. We've normalized taking on huge amounts of debt that I don't see ever being paid back, it only keeps increasing.
I'm not sure what the solution is, or what the consequences will be, but it gives me an uneasy feeling that at some point in the future, the US will default and economic problems will ensue.
Because unlike in 2017, Republicans don’t hold the White House and the Senate, so McCarthy is grabbing on to any source of leverage on other issues that Republicans in the House wouldn’t need if their party controlled the rest of government.
So if I understand correctly, McCarthy wants to pass a bill to raise the limit (along with some other stuff), and the president says he'll veto it (because of the other stuff). Who do you blame for that?
And if your answer is "Congress", do you blame Congress all the other times they pass bills with "some other stuff" in them? If not, why do you blame them this time?
I'm not claiming any of these are good options, but "the debt ceiling will make us default" seems incorrect and irresponsible.