What Experts Think About Our Debt Ceiling

The debt ceiling has increased to dangerously high levels in recent years due to excessive government spending.

It’s no secret that the US Government has accumulated quite a bit of debt over the past few years. As it stands now, the federal government has over $14 trillion in outstanding debt owed to the public (owed to anyone who owns US treasury bonds plus debt owed to social security and Medicare trust funds). This is out of control. Our national public debt now makes up over 97.5% of our GDP, and threatens the foundations of international trade. Thus, the current congressional debate on what action to take with our debt ceiling is of utmost importance.

With our current debt ceiling set at $14.3 trillion, most economists predict that the US government will surpass that number by mid-May, and theoretically lose all legal right to continue to borrow. The effects of such a default could drastically destabilize the international economic flow of free trade. Nations such as Japan and China that are heavily invested in American debt need American spending to keep their economies going just as much as we need their goods to keep ours moving. Capitalism can’t just temporarily hit “pause” until we get our debt in line. So, what do we do? What can we do?

Here is a story from the National Review Online that asked a variety of experts for their opinion on what action should be taken regarding the debt ceiling.

—David Eads