The Debt Ceiling Confrontation Is Playing With Fire

The Debt Ceiling Confrontation Is Playing With Fire

from The Baseline Scenario by Simon Johnson

 By Simon Johnson

Congressional Republicans are again threatening not to increase the ceiling on the amount of federal government debt that can be issued. On Wednesday, they agreed to postpone this particular piece of the fiscal confrontation, but only until May. The decision to turn the debt ceiling into some form of showdown is a big mistake for the Republicans — and dragging out the indecision is likely to prolong the agony of uncertainty and have damaging economic consequences for the country.http://baselinescenario.com/2013/01/24/the-debt-ceiling-confrontation-is-playing-with-fire/