The debt ceiling has been raised oer 100 times since 1940.
It's funny how all these volatile economic issues began right around the 1910s.
"The latest calculation of the National Debt as posted by the Treasury Department has - at least numerically - exceeded the statutory Debt Limit approved by Congress last February as part of the Recovery Act stimulus bill.
The ceiling was set at $12.104 trillion dollars. The latest posting by Treasury shows the National Debt at nearly $12.135 trillion."
I believe that was the first time that ever happened in 2009.
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A little from the government:
"...The debt limit, as noted above, can hinder the Treasury’s ability to manage the federal government’s finances. In extreme cases, when the federal debt is very near its statutory limit, the Treasury must take unusual and extraordinary measures to meet federal obligations. While the debt limit has never caused the federal government to default on its obligations, it has at times caused great inconvenience and has added uncertainty to Treasury operations.
"...The statutory limit on federal debt began with the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917,8 which helped finance the United States’ entry into World War I.9 By allowing the Treasury to issue long-term Liberty Bonds in addition to more commonly used short-term debt instruments, the federal government held down its interest costs..."
Why does it feel as though all the Acts and Laws established around 1917 (1910-1920) are coming back to haunt nations?
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How did they get in the red? Article in the NYT tries to explain.
Wow. Bush and Obama each contributed almost equally? J'amais!
Wikie has an entry about debt and other things here.
More from The Atlantic.
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The options seem to be cut spending and/or cut/raise taxes - more like raise.
To me, the former has to be drastically curtailed. There are waaaaayyyyy too manyy programs on the continent let alone the USA that are simply inefficient, pointless and wasteful. I'm sure many of them can be consolidated if not cut outright.
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