Debt ceiling delay: GOP proposes three-month window
In a proposal floated today that comes from their weekend policy retreat in Virginia, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives proposed raising the debt ceiling for three months. In essence, ‘kicking the can down the road’ one more time.
“It’s really important that one lesson of the past two years, not the last four, is that maybe we’re not willing to pitch the government into crisis for no good reason,” The Guardian’s Heidi Moore says. “If we’re at that point, then we can have some hope and change.”
Investors seemed buoyed by the news and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at close to a five-year high. Even though it doesn’t provide a long-term solution, many see it as a cause for optimism that we won’t be facing another manufactured crisis on top of the the tough budget cuts Congress packaged into a delayed ‘sequester’ bill the last time we battled over the debt ceiling.
“At least we didn’t wait until the 11th hour to kick the can down the road for the next three months,” says Chicago Tribune’s business reporter Ameet Sachdev. “I think the House Republicans realize that they cannot do that — what they did on New Year’s Eve — and risk the economy for the next six months.”
For more analysis on the Federal Reserve and on whether one can still make it in this economy, listen to the audio above.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
