With a government shutdown barely averted, lawmakers and President Obama are now battling over whether to raise the debt ceiling. NPR explains the debt ceiling as a cap on the federal debt, a cap which now sits at $14.3 trillion.
Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner warned Congress last week that we will hit that ceiling of $14.3 trillion by the middle of May, according to the Army Times. Geithner explained that a failure by lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling could put military pay at risk:
In addition, if the debt ceiling isn't raised the United States could be forced to default on its debt for the first time in our history, according to NPR:
Didn't we just pull ourselves out of economic chaos, suffering through the worst recession since the 1930s? That won't stop our friends in Washington from playing a game of chicken with the debt ceiling, though. House speaker John Boehner has made it clear he won't go for raising the debt ceiling unless there are some conditions attached - conditions like a balanced budget amendment or caps on government spending, according to The Hill's Blog Briefing Room.
So, to quote Ronald Reagan, "There you go again." Military paychecks once more used as pawns in a political chess game. Thoughts, anyone???
