As President Biden begins meeting with congressional leaders to resolve the debt ceiling showdown, an economist warns the consequences of a default could be dire.
Ceilings are overrated.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
The US government reached the limits of its borrowing capacity in March and is fast approaching the point at which it will no longer be able to pay all its bills. What’s the big deal?
Even Congress gets into the Christmas spirit.
Reuters
Despite its tendency to provoke anxiety-inducing debates in Congress and government shutdowns, the high level of US IOUs isn’t a big deal.
The deadline for the US budget sequester —which will see across-the-board spending cuts of $US 85 billion implemented over the fiscal year — is rapidly approaching.
AAP
The first thing you should know about the sequester is that nearly everyone agrees that it’s a bad idea. In fact, that was the point. In the summer of 2011, with congressional Republicans refusing to raise…
President Obama has proposed $US1.5 trillion worth of tax increases for the rich.
AAP
Sometimes good policy and good politics are the same thing. By tying together lessons learned from economist John Maynard Keynes and former president Harry Truman, Barack Obama is taking steps that may…
Obama’s mishandling of the politics of stimulus and deficit may be costing him voter support.
President Barack Obama’s $US447 billion jobs plan appears to be struggling. Republican resistance to some aspects of the rescue deal announced last week - particularly around government spending - was…
In announcing his $US447 billion stimulus, Obama has his eyes firmly on the US election in 2012.
Barack Obama has laid out a US$447 billion (A$421 billion) plan to cut payroll taxes and boost government spending to create jobs, in a bid to “jolt” the stalled US economy back to life. Obama told a joint…
While the US is finding its footing, China is looking to expand its global economic power by pushing for the renminbi importance in international transactions.
Fotopedia/Philip Roeland
The downgrading of US debt by Standard & Poor’s may sound the starting gun for an enduring rebalancing of global economic power. For decades, investors worldwide sought the safety of US government…
China may appear strong now compared to the troubled US, but still lags behind in technology and per-capita wealth.
Flickr/futureatlas.com
Europe is on the decline. The US has its own problems. Meanwhile, China and India appear strong. But is it too soon pick the next global superpower? In this Q+A, Professor Geoffrey Garrett, CEO of the…
Stock markets around the world plummeted after news of the US credit rating downgrade (EPA/FRANK RUMPENHORST)
Without the firing of a single shot in anger, a country has been, at least in a sense, brought to its economic knees. The capitalist system, with variations and aberrations, is now reacting. Shares are…
Barack Obama led a cheery cabinet after avoiding a US default - but was the deal too late?
“Most importantly it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America. And it will allow us to lift the cloud of doubt and uncertainty.” President Barack…
Global markets have fallen dramatically over fear of a US double dip recession and global downturn.
AAP
The Australian share market has followed Wall street overnight and other global markets, with as much as $60 billion wiped in value throughout the day. The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the forecast…
Has his compromise with Republicans over the debt ceiling ended Obama’s electoral hopes?
AAP
Despite the apparent disgust of many Americans and the contempt held by many outside observers, US politics is supposed to look this way – at least sometimes. The widely diagnosed dysfunction of the recent…
The US debt deal: hold onto your hats, it’s going to be a hell of a ride.
AAP
“A catastrophe on multiple levels.” That’s how New York Times columnist Paul Krugman characterised the US debt deal brokered this week between Democrats and Republicans. President Obama on Tuesday signed…
Like other “dollarised” developing economies, Timor Leste will feel the pain of a US dollar decline.
AAP
Although the US debt ceiling crisis has been resolved for now, the saga has obvious implications for developing countries. Yet, as is often the case, political conflict is obscuring the persistent and…
A Tea Party supporter takes part in a rally in Washington’s Capitol Hill.
AAP
To outsiders looking in, the recent crisis in governance in the United States surrounding the debt ceiling might appear to be a farce, if the stakes were not actually so serious. Until Tuesday (EST), the…