Debt ceiling debate, public radio, numbers and more.
On the way to work today and on the way back National Public Propaganda Radio was running pieces on the national debt and the debt ceiling. Not surprisingly the several guests they brought were of the same opinion, any failure to raise the ceiling immediately would result in a catastrophe. Their explanation was quite simple and partially correct and as usual the devil is in the details and NPR has masterfully ignored them. NPR and the guests they have procured have recited a popular rhetoric. A default will cause the interests rates to skyrocket and the value of the dollar to plummet causing long term economic damage. That is correct, provided of course that the US Treasury chooses to not pay the interest on outstanding debt or pay out maturing debt. Failure to not pay for schools, agricultural subsidies, homeland security, military bases, lavish transportation costs for Congress and even social security/medicare will not in any way impact our credit standing. The only way th