cnsnews (via bloomberg): Treasury Secretary Geithner: Lift Debt Limit to Infinity

[twa]

The United States bumped up against its borrowing limit Sunday, forcing the Treasury Department to employ “extraordinary measures” to make sure the government keeps paying its bills.

After a brief hiatus, the nation’s debt limit has returned as a major hurdle for Washington to overcome, and one that will play a central role in fiscal fights heading into the fall.

Congress agreed to suspend the nation’s $16.4 trillion borrowing limit the last time they approached it, at the beginning of the year. But that suspension expired May 19.

The latest numbers from the Treasury Department indicate that the overall debt of the United States swelled by about $300 billion during the period of the suspension, and now totals roughly $16.7 trillion.

With the government once again operating under a borrowing cap, the Treasury is back to employing special measures to free up space under the limit.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/300507-as-us-again-hits-debt-ceiling-extraordinary-measures-become-standard#ixzz2TnXaLGPO

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[CurseReversed]

It's currently Infinity, we want a debt ceiling imposed.

He's got the argument backwards

[SteveFromYellowstone]

The debt ceiling says that we will default on our debt if it goes over a certain amount. That is, we will not pay back our debt over a certain amount.

Huge conflict with the 14th amendment saying no one should question it.

This is what people don't understand. They hear 'debt ceiling' and think it's something different than it actually is. Our media doesn't really do a good job of explaining this either.

[twa]

This is what people don't understand. They hear 'debt ceiling' and think it's something different than it actually is. Our media doesn't really do a good job of explaining this either.

Our colleges either judging from some of the posts

[Larry]

deleted post.

[endzone_dave]

There will be a day of reckoning when no one will want to buy our debt anymore. Life won't be fun after that.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

There will be a day of reckoning when no one will want to buy our debt anymore. Life won't be fun after that.

If that day ever comes, we will have bigger problems before it because people won't just one day wake up, see a big debt number and say "oh, i don't want to buy the debt of the most stable, powerful and wealthy country in the world anymore." No, either we will lose stability, power or wealth some other way first.

[Larry]

Yeah, I seem to remember reading, like a year ago or so, that Treasury issued a new batch of t-bills, with a 10-year fixed interest rate of 0.75%.

(Makes me think that if there was ever a time for a big batch of deficit-funded public works projects, it's when you have record corporate profits, 8% (nominal) unemployment, and people are willing to loan you money at below the rate of inflation. (Fixed for 10 years.) We should be widening every interstate highway in the nation, and things like that.

[TMK9973]

I think it should change..no more debt ceiling because by the time you reach it you HAVE to raise it.

It should be a yearly deficit limit and should read that no budget should be approved that exceeds the deficit limit for that year.

It should be a formula and be based on a % of GDP for last fiscal year.

[Larry]

Well, I think that, in a perfect world, the voters would impose their own limit, through the political process.

But we all know, we don't live in that world.

[endzone_dave]

If that day ever comes, we will have bigger problems before it because people won't just one day wake up, see a big debt number and say "oh, i don't want to buy the debt of the most stable, powerful and wealthy country in the world anymore." No, either we will lose stability, power or wealth some other way first.

Maybe. Or maybe China and Saudi Arabia get together and give the US the finger. I guess the good news is if they don't buy our debt and the US goes under, they go under too.