As a new deadline fast approaches on the decision to raise the nation’s debt limit, a certain doomsday urgency nears. When Democrats and Republicans were locked in a stalemate over this same question in October, many predicted dire economic consequences should Congress fail to act.
Party leaders, however, were able to extend the reckoning until early December. Now if Republicans remain resolute in voting against increasing the limit, which sets the maximum amount the U.S. federal government can legally borrow, the country will likely witness a replay of the political brinksmanship. And maybe worse.
But just how economically catastrophic would failure to act on the debt limit be? News@Northeastern talked about the consequences of breaching the debt limit with Northeastern economist William Dickens, distinguished professor of economics and social policy.
