"In the economic area, this is the equivalent of nuclear war," - AP
The United States reached its $14.3 trillion limit on federal borrowing Monday, leaving Congress 11 weeks to raise the threshold or risk a financial panic or another recession. Geithner said the government could get by with bookkeeping maneuvers like that through Aug. 2. After that, the government could default on its debt for the first time, threatening the national credit rating and the dollar.
Geithner sent Congress a letter saying he would be unable to make the pension investments in full. He urged Congress to raise the debt limit "in order to protect the full faith and credit of the United States and avoid catastrophic economic consequences for citizens." "We need to have a vote to lift the debt ceiling because the consequences of not doing so would be quite serious," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "And those who suggest otherwise are whistling past the graveyard." If it doesn't raise the limit, Congress would have to come up with $738 billion to make up for what it planned to borrow through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30...Read full from Associated Press
The United States reached its $14.3 trillion limit on federal borrowing Monday, leaving Congress 11 weeks to raise the threshold or risk a financial panic or another recession. Geithner said the government could get by with bookkeeping maneuvers like that through Aug. 2. After that, the government could default on its debt for the first time, threatening the national credit rating and the dollar.
Geithner sent Congress a letter saying he would be unable to make the pension investments in full. He urged Congress to raise the debt limit "in order to protect the full faith and credit of the United States and avoid catastrophic economic consequences for citizens." "We need to have a vote to lift the debt ceiling because the consequences of not doing so would be quite serious," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "And those who suggest otherwise are whistling past the graveyard." If it doesn't raise the limit, Congress would have to come up with $738 billion to make up for what it planned to borrow through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30...Read full from Associated Press