News
Politico | Timothy Geithner: Default looms between mid-February and early March
The U.S. government will exhaust its borrowing authority between mid-February and early March if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling, outgoing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress in a letter today.
Roll Call | House GOP Leaders Consider Four-Year Debt Limit Deal
With the administration’s debt ceiling deadline fast approaching, House Republican leaders are considering a four-year debt limit increase that would take the issue off the table for the rest of President Barack Obama’s presidency.
Bloomberg | Fitch Says Top AAA Sovereign Ratings Under Pressure in 2013
Fitch Ratings said its AAA credit rankings on France, the U.S. and the U.K. are likely to come under pressure this year due to slow economic growth and high debt levels.
CNBC | Younger Americans Have More Credit-Card Debt Problems: Study
American credit card holders in their late 20s and early 30s have more debt than older consumers, repay it more slowly and risk dying in debt if they don't curb their spending habits, a new study showed on Monday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
USA Today | Marco Rubio: Stop Washington's reckless spending
Just 17 months ago, Washington raised the nation's debt limit to $16.39 trillion, the largest debt ceiling level in our nation's history. But because this increase didn't include serious spending reductions, it didn't take long to reach this borrowing limit.
WSJ | The Debt Ceiling Is Scarier Than the Fiscal Cliff
Despite its dismal approval rating, Congress deserves thanks for at least not driving the economy over the fiscal cliff. Let me state unequivocally that the New Year's Day deal was a lot better than the alternative, no doubt.
Real Clear Markets | Going Big On Deficit Reduction Is Dead. Now What?
Nearly everyone understands that the nation's deficit will eventually bankrupt the federal government and have a catastrophic effect on the American economy. But, hey, interest rates are low and investors are still willing to purchase the federal debt despite receiving almost no return. There seems to be no immediate threat.
CATO | The Overrated Debt Ceiling
The debt is currently $16.4 trillion, technically in excess of the statutory limit, and the Treasury Department has been using “extraordinary measures,” such as delaying payments to federal retirement programs, in order to push back the final day of reckoning.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Debt Ceiling: Default Not at Issue, Federal Spending Is
President Obama is expected to make his case for a debt ceiling increase at a press conference this morning. The development comes as House Republicans are reportedly weighing “default” and “government shutdown.” While it’s encouraging that conservatives are gearing up for a fight, it’s important that policymakers and the public keep those two terms straight.
Café Hayek | Cochrane on the Debt Ceiling
If a $100 bond comes due, the Treasury can sell a new $100 bond to pay off the principal without increasing the total amount of debt. And there’s still $2.5 trillion of tax revenue coming in. That’s plenty to cover interest payments.
