If Congress forces the United States into default, the Freedom Caucus will be the likely culprit. On March 10 it laid out its demands for raising the debt ceiling. All “topline discretionary” spending (i.e., spending that must be appropriated, excepting emergency spending) must be frozen at current levels, “allowing for 1 percent annual growth” (i.e., inflation increases […]
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The question for investors is not whether the U.S. can pay its debts, but whether it has the political will to do so; as such, a default on debts by the U.S. would differ from that of a developing country without the financial capacity to fulfill its obligations. “It’s really a political game, or political […]
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Still, I think a lot could have gone wrong with the way Democrats messaged around a defense of democracy. When Biden trotted out “ultra MAGA” some months ago, I worried he was more likely to energize the opposition than rally his own troops. But more recently, I heard one of Pennsylvania Governor-elect Josh Shapiro’s final […]
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Beyond the cumbersome process, a discharge petition is unlikely to be used because, like McCarthy, moderate Republicans also want spending cuts to be attached to a debt limit increase and are thus unlikely to agree to an end run around him. (I don’t know anything about football, to be honest, so I’m just winging my […]
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