![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/dollar-300x172.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We’ve been seeing it bandied about for weeks now – that the US may wind up in a position where it is unable to pay out what it needs to. The Republicans blame the Democrats for spending money like a horny frat boy who found a C-note on the sidewalk in front of a $50 hooker’s place. The Democrats are blaming the Republicans for not extending our national overdraft any further than it has been already 2,473,294 times, and are filling the airways with “You won’t get your VA money!” You won’t get Social Security!” It’s not really as cut and dried as all that.<\/p>\n
First off, the widely quoted date is June 1. But…<\/p>\n
As a result, no one is certain when the US will breach its debt ceiling. Yellen thinks it will be as early as June 1, as she wrote in a letter\u00a0 to legislators yesterday (May 22). The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think-tank in Washington DC, predicts some date between June and August, with June 2-13 being a particularly fragile time for the Treasury.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So it’s wiser to say “soonish”. What will happen? Again, “that depends”:<\/p>\n
The Treasury can postpone investment in a pension fund for retired and disabled federal employees; once the debt ceiling crisis has passed, these investments can resume. It\u2019s a way of buying time to buy more time. If the Treasury manages to get the country past June 13, then an influx of quarterly tax revenue on June 14 may allow the US to make it until the end of the month, said Shai Akabas, executive director of BPC\u2019s Economic Policy Program.<\/p>\n
But what if Yellen exhausts every possible maneuver, Republicans refuse to budge unless Democrats gut the nation\u2019s services, and president Joe Biden refuses to raise the ceiling unilaterally via the 14th Amendment? At that point, Yellen will have to direct the Treasury Department to prioritize certain debt payments over others.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here’s where it gets fun. If Yellen directs Treasury to keep up payments on foreign debt, the taxpayers get screwed but hopefully we avoid the possibility of triggering a world recession. If she directs Treasury to take care of US payees first, you can bet foreign markets will not like us, our national credit rating will go down faster than
Kamala in Willie Brown’s office\u00a0 <\/del>sorry, I meant Monica when Hillary was overseas – it would be rapid and brutal.\u00a0 Quartz<\/a><\/p>\nWant to blame someone? Start with those TRILLION dollar programs passed in the last 10 years. Look at how much money we spend on folks who aren’t even legally here, are trying to spend on forgiving loans to folks old enough to enlist but unable to understand a payment plan, or are discussing spending on reparation for folks who were never slaves.<\/p>\n
You can have your pick of scapegoats depending on your political persuasion, but remember: Congress controls spending. You probably re-elected your local Congresscritter because, well, he\/she is OK even if the rest were batshit crazy. Man up, look in a mirror, and realize they ALL need to go away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"