edit to add:
And here’s why there is NO chance of a default (and why Obama is simply posturing, or at worst, LYING ):
There are two parts to the obligations subject to the debt ceiling: that part of the principal maturing during the time in question and the interest payments that the federal government must make on its debt.
Between February 15 and March 15 of this year, the federal government will owe roughly $38.1 billion in interest payments. Failure to make those payments would indeed result in default. However, the federal government will also collect an estimated $277 billion in taxes and other revenue over that same period, meaning there will be MORE THAN ENOUGH money available to make those interest payments.
True, the federal government would not have enough revenue to continue spending the $452 billion that it otherwise would over that period. It would have to prioritize its expenditures until the debate was resolved. But there would be, for example, enough money to afford the interest on the debt, military salaries, Social Security, and Medicare, with at least $90 billion left over for other things.
So, where’s the problem? ANSWER: WE WANT TO SPEND MORE THAN WE TAKE IN.
Simple solution: DON’T SPEND MORE THAN WE TAKE IN. In other words, WE DON’T NEED THE ADDITIONAL 1 TRILLION DOLLARS WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING SINCE WE DESIGNED AN INEFFECTIVE “STIMULUS” BUDGET IN 2009 WHICH BECAME THE NEW NORMAL!!
What’s so hard to understand?
I agree with almost everything you said, save that I don’t consider rolling over debt to be “paying” debt. Especially when we’ve been doing it since the initial baby boomers, who are now at retirement age, were delivering newspapers.