Debt ceiling D-Day is June 1

We’ve been following the looming debt ceiling crisis since January. At that time, the U.S. federal debt ceiling, limited by law, was reached, and the government began to take so-called “extraordinary measures” to keep things running as is without going into default. However, the problem has not been solved, and it is rapidly coming to a head. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that if Congress doesn’t pass a law extending the debt limit by June 1, the “extraordinary measures” will run out and we will begin to go into default. That could cause catastrophic economic results, including a deep recession, a stock market crash, a spike in interest rates, and the government’s inability to send out Social Security checks, or make interest payments on Treasury bonds.

Some people say the Republicans want to blow up the U.S. economy this way. The theory is that the Republicans, who number in the minority, can only take back the White House and full control of Congress via this big gamble of (1) crashing the economy and (2) blaming President Joe Biden and the Democrats for the crash. To that end, Republicans are holding the debt ceiling, which is the bill that must be paid for past spending, hostage to budget demands for massive cuts in future spending for veterans, the environment, renewable energy, student loan forgiveness and other crucial items, even though these are two completely separate legislative processes. Republicans may think they can get away with such hostage-taking in part because the mainstream media notoriously play the “both sides at fault” game, or even worse, may be more inclined falsely to blame President Biden for the current crisis and its possible consequences.