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From the Scholars Strategy Network, written by Craig Volden, University of Virginia, and Alan E. Wiseman, Vanderbilt University.
What is the “debt ceiling” and why does it matter?
At the most basic level, it is the limit that Congress places on the U.S. Treasury in terms of how much debt it can issue. The Treasury has been at its technical limit — $16.699 trillion — since May, but it has been using certain budgeting tactics, so-called “extraordinary measures,” to get around the stated limits. But those measures will shortly no longer be viable, if Congress does not act.
The American public and its elected representatives often seem paralyzed by ideological polarization and legislative gridlock. One of the great conundrums of the era remains how, in effect, to de-polarize the electorate. At the individual level, what techniques might best work to moderate positions?
