debt ceiling

The Debt Ceiling Law is now a Tool of Partisan Political Power; Abolish It

by Mark Weisbrot

There is no "ticking bomb" of national debt; the use of the debt ceiling to threaten the nation with default to secure spending cuts that damage Democratic presidents is by now a clearly established partisan trick, and the US government should no longer be held hostage to it, says an economic policy researcher. 

Does Lincoln Hold the Key to the Debt Ceiling Crisis?

by Roger Lowenstein

Issuing "greenback" paper currency backed by the government's credit instead of gold was seen as a radical move in 1862, but Lincoln and Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase recognized the paramount importance of safeguarding the nation's credit and did it anyway. 

Financial Historian Kathleen Day on the Origins and History of the Debt Ceiling

Is the debt ceiling, which has been raised 78 times since being established by Congress during World War I, a useful periodic reminder of fiscal restraint or an outdated relic that has become a weapon for partisan extortionists? Kathleen Day discusses the ceiling with NPR's Scott Simon. 

Would the American Right Crash the Economy for Political Advantage? Ask Chile

by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

From the moment socialist Salvador Allende was declared the winner of Chile's 1970 election, Henry Kissinger and CIA director Richard Helms were at work to "make the economy scream" to create favorable conditions for a right-wing coup. 

What's the Deal with the Trillion Dollar Coin?

Law professor Rohan Grey discusses the history of the debt ceiling law and why minting a giant denomination coin might be the least stupid option should Congress refuse to raise the ceiling. 

The 14th Amendment Should Put a Stop to Debt Ceiling Hostage Taking

by Eric Foner

The provisions of the Reconstruction Amendments dealing with the national debt were tied to the nation's short-lived commitment to interracial democracy in the South; today they offer the Biden administration a possible tool to use if Congress pushes to the brink of default. 

The Constitutional Case for Demolishing the Debt Ceiling

by Thomas Geoghegan

The Founders would find the debt ceiling a ludicrous concept; it's time to take this instrument of blackmail out of the legislative process. The Biden administration should provoke a court fight over the law as an unconstitutional limit on the government's ability to pay its debts. 

The US is Politically Bankrupt

by Rebecca L. Spang

By provoking crisis over the debt ceiling, Republicans are failing to heed lessons from pre-revolutionary France. 

Mint the Coin: The Debt Ceiling is an Absurd Problem. It's Time for an Absurd Solution

by Zachary D. Carter

Silly as it sounds, minting a trillion dollar coin is the solution to the recurrent ordeal of the debt ceiling. It's legal, it's sensible, and it's not more ridiculous than using the prospect of default as a political club. 

The Disturbing Precedent for McConnell’s Debt-Ceiling Brinksmanship

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

Mitch McConnell's use of Senate rules and the body's disproportionate representation to ensure that Democrats who represent 41.5 million more people than Republicans are unable to govern. His tactics echo those of the antebellum Slavocracy. 

Garrett Epps: The Civil War Roots of the Debt Ceiling Crisis

Congress wrote the 14th Amendment to guarantee the legitimacy of the United States' debt, because Southerners restored to power provoked a crisis over the respective war debts of the United States and the Confederacy. 

The History of the Debt Ceiling: How a Routine Procedure Became Routine Political Brinksmanship

It's clear that the originators of legislation establishing a debt limit for the United States did not intend for the measure to be a land mine threatening to derail the government's operations on a recurring basis. 

Lessons From the Great Default Crisis of 1975

by Kim Phillips-Fein

Thirty-eight years ago to this day, New York City almost went bankrupt.

Letter to European Friends: Understanding "The Stupid" in U.S. Politics

by Bernard Weiner

Are Americans totally round the bend?

When Debt-Ceiling Politics Was Bipartisan

by Stephen Mihm

President Barack Obama is hardly the first president forced to play debt-ceiling politics.

Don Hickey: The U.S. defaulted on debt after War of 1812

Lessons from America's most forgotten war.

False claim: Debt ceiling never used for leverage in history

In 1973, when Richard Nixon was president, Democrats in the Senate sought to attach a campaign finance reform bill to the debt ceiling.

How to Fix Congress? The States Should Propose a New Constitutional Convention.

by Richard Striner

Article V stipulates that two-thirds of the states can force Congress to call a constitutional convention.

Obama's Constitutional Imperative

by Sean Wilentz

Obama must follow the 14th Amendment.

We've Never Seen Anything Like a Potential Debt Ceiling Default. Ever.

by David Austin Walsh

Economic historians explain why a debt ceiling default would be a very, very bad thing.