What Happens If The Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised?

All eyes are on whether Congress will resolve the government shutdown, which has entered its seventh day.

But an even more serious concern is the debt ceiling.

If lawmakers on Capitol Hill fail to raise the nation’s debt ceiling by October 17th, the government will run out of money to pay all of its bills.

If this were to happen it hurt the economy and the country’s credit rating, and some people simply wouldn’t get paid.

Guest

• Cardiff Garcia, reporter at the Financial Times blog FT Alphaville. He tweets @CardiffGarcia.

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