As I See It
The frightening consequences of a debt default
They are treating it as a game, although it is a very dangerous one. Our two parties in Washington continue to offer brinksmanship and bluster rather than solutions as the nation inches perilously close to defaulting on its debt. To say the consequences would be dire, even as our elected officials fail to come to agreement. How dire? Plan on losing about a quarter of the value of your investments. More than 1.5 million jobs lost in the U.S. The U.S. dollar would be weakened. The cost of borrowing money to buy a house or car would rise, as would credit card rates. The effects would be felt well outside our borders. A default would kickstart not only a domestic recession, but a global financial crisis as well. Yet some in Washington, like US Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), suggest a possible default is a “phony crisis.” These dire predictions don’t sound very phony. It sounds like it would hit you and me right in the wallet, while many government services would be slowed or halted. The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt before. The U.S. has voted to raise the debt ceiling more than 100 times, and Washington must do so again, or you and I will certainly face the consequences.
Char
May 23, 2023 at 6:06 am
What do you mean we might get that as debt default? We already have almost all of that already with Biden ruling by “Executive Order” since he came into office. He started by canceling pipelines, making drilling for oil and natural gas much more difficult making fuel much more expensive, starting inflation going to record highs. It has already made our retirement investments worth much less than before he became president.
We shouldn’t be spending money we don’t have.
nick
May 23, 2023 at 6:51 am
The Republicans put a deal on the table. Biden and the democrats have offered NOTHING.
They want to keep spending and continue the march toward socialism.
Their ace is the media who abandoned their role and sold out as a shill for the Democratic Party long time ago.
Lying Joe said one truthful thing at the State of the Union and that was we will need fossil fuels for another twenty or thirty years and then continued the attack on them to please the left.
The left wing of the Democratic Party hates and is in constant attack mode.
Walden
May 23, 2023 at 10:51 am
The quote attributed to Johnson is incomplete. Johnson went on to say Treasury Sec. Janet “Transitory Inflation” Yellen can take near-term steps given year over year record tax receipts, to avoid a default.
Yellen facilitated the current inflation and debt problems by minimizing the likelihood of runaway inflation and promoting runaway government spending. She is a big government shill.
A dollar at the beginning of the Biden presidency is only worth $.84 today according to the administration’s own figures. Take that to the grocery store.
Lucenut
May 23, 2023 at 10:55 am
Scott Robert Democ-rat is laughable! I may have missed his piece on the dire consequences of the Joe Biden policies that have doubled our cost of living.
I welcome the day when we simply defund the federal government. It will be a joyous day because our standard of living will increase dramatically overnight. Our civil liberties will be strengthened, and the world will be a much safer place without the CIA, NSA, FBI, etc running around like maniacs causing trouble.
Walden
May 23, 2023 at 11:11 am
If Mr. Shaw has such a clear crystal ball to state the “consequences” he lists as fact he should have been advising the Biden administration to reduce its spending long ago. Most of the “consequences” are already manifest in the economy as a result of reckless fiscal and monetary policy.
I suggest inserting the usual “could”, “should”, “might”, “may” and other assorted weasel words the media usually uses when trying to incite public outrage but leave a possibility the journalist is “probably” wrong.