Here is a very interesting and engrossing read regarding the imminent debt-ceiling hanging over the US economy and reputation through the lens of legal opining and historical context from economist Bruce Bartlett.
The essay and analysis is not just one's usual recant of doom and gloom (however later well justified) but uses the current shutdown showdown as a point of departure to study the roots of the statutory and constitutional strictures. The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution contains a clause that makes public debt inviolable, inviting a way around the impasse—whose language and adoption was a direct outcome of the US Civil War when the recently re-incorporated confederate states were disinclined to contribute to Union outlays. There are differences of opinions whether such an argument can be invoked. Brokers like to accentuate the uncertain, since the movement of investments is how they make money, gleaning surcharges off the top, and as
default becomes a sure thing, there are quite a few ideas here (particularly the inability for a government to truly prioritise obligations) to keep in mind.
