The best time to raise the debt ceiling to a quadrillion googolplex dollars was 20 years ago. The next best time is today. EricLevitz writes
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Congressional Democrats are about 48 hours away from staking the stability of the global financial system on Mitch McConnell’s capacity for shame.
No one wants this. Or at least, no significant constituency in the United States does. Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Mitch McConnell — all want the debt ceiling raised. The Republican Senate Minority Leader has described a potential default as a “crisis” that the government is duty bound to avoid. And Congress can honor that duty by taking a quick up-or-down vote.
The aim of this obstruction is to force Democrats to raise the debt limit through the budget reconciliation process. Passing a debt-limit hike through a reconciliation bill is a bit of an ordeal. The process requires Democrats to pass a new budget resolution and then a new budget reconciliation bill — both of which would be subject to unlimited votes on amendments in the Senate.
Democrats’ indignation over this state of affairs is justified. But allowing grievance to dictate governance is not. Passing a debt-limit hike through reconciliation is burdensome. But it’s nothing compared to presiding over a default. Democrats could save themselves the hassle of reconciliation by amending the Senate’s rules: With 51 votes, the party could declare that debt-ceiling bills cannot be filibustered. But Joe Manchin said Monday night that he would not support such a carveout.
I think both these outcomes are plausible. But given the stakes, plausible isn’t good enough. And in any case, if this standoff goes down to the wire, that could drive up interest rates all by itself.
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