debt ceiling

If you were reading the newspaper back in May, you might have seen a small reference to a statement from Treasury Secretary Geithner to the effect that he could delay the day of reckoning until August. You probably didn't see any specifics,…

This comes from the Washington post: Since 1980, the debt ceiling has been raised 39 times. It was raised 17 times under Ronald Reagan, four times under Bill Clinton and seven times under George W. Bush. Congress is currently in a…

Warren Mosler argues that either way the debt ceiling debate goes, the economy remains vulnerable to looming external shocks. And that is bullish for bonds.

If Cantor doesn’t fold his hand, it will be a political disaster for him and his party and economic disaster for the global economy.

What happens on August 3rd if no debt ceiling negotiation is reached in the US. This column argues that Treasury could go around, not over the debt ceiling limit by using its constitutional authority to mint money.

"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue, because there may simply not be the money". Video of President Obama with Scott Pelley below.

I do not take the position that other writers on this blog do that Social Security and Medicare must be protected at all costs. In fact, as you can see above, I outlined very clearly two years ago what is happening politically right now.…

Michael Hudson argues that President Obama says one thing, and he does the opposite. Here’s basically the charade that’s happening when he’s trying to be reasonable. In order for him to move way to the right and to continue the Bush…

Marshall Auerback argues that President Obama remains close to Wall Street via Geithner, Summers, Rubin, et al. Given the strong mutual cultural antipathy between Wall Street 'Yankees' and Southwestern 'Cowboys', it is not surprising that…

It is not clear that there is a political consensus for a stand-alone tax holiday. There may be support for the stand-alone tax holiday as part of a larger corporate tax reform effort. If it is enacted, job growth and capital investment is…