What the Debt Ceiling Means to You!

From Minyanville
By Todd Harrison Jul 27, 2011 10:15 am


In 2008, I offered that the crisis would cycle through the financial, economic, and social spheres. It now appears to have infected the political spectrum as well.

As European leaders navigate the most dangerous economic juncture in the history of the Eurozone, stateside policymakers have been on a mission all their own -- to arrive at a bipartisan agreement to raise the debt ceiling.

While this topic is confusing to many Americans, it is actually quite simple: The United States has been writing checks at such a feverish pace that its coffers are running dry. Unless the legal cap that the federal government is allowed to borrow -- the debt ceiling -- is raised, our country will run out of money.

Before you react to that scary fact, please remember that the debt ceiling has been raised 74 times since 1962 -- averaging roughly once per year -- and most of the current debate is predicated on political infighting, competing agendas, and shameless self-promotion. 

http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/todd-harrison-debt-ceiling-debt-ceiling/7/27/2011/id/35971?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=Fool