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The president of the United States, Joe Biden, received the leaders of both parties on Tuesday to seek consensus on the increase in the debt ceiling. But the talks did not bear fruit and further inflamed the debate with less than three weeks to go before a possible debt default.
After a long-awaited meeting in the Oval Office of the White House to address the thorny issue of the debt ceiling, the representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties ended up just as they began: in a deadlock that does not allow progress towards an agreement.
The head of the White House and congressional leaders did not report any progress, although they did agree to meet again this week to try to avoid the imminent risk of a government default unprecedented in US history.
The debt limit of 31.4 trillion dollars was already reached on January 19, so the Government is currently resorting to money in its reserves to pay the debts it has contracted, as an extraordinary measure.
Politically charged economic negotiations
The reason for the stagnation: the opposition says that it agrees to raise that debt ceiling by 1.5 trillion dollars, on the condition of drastically reducing public spending, which would include taking resources away from key projects such as the cancellation of student debts or the delivery of subsidies for the industry that migrates towards clean energy.
Our national debt crisis is too important to play politics. That’s why House Republicans voted to avoid default and responsibly raise the debt limit.
Our founders designed our government for negotiation. So let’s get this done. pic.twitter.com/eVmNSLYg5E
—Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 9, 2023
Joe Biden assured this Tuesday that he was “absolutely sure” that the country could avoid a ‘default’ and declared that the breach of the obligations of the United States “is not an option.”
Even so, time is short. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been emphatic: Either Congress raises the debt limit, or the Federal Government will run out of funds to pay its bills as of June 1.
If they do not reach a solution, there will be an “economic and financial catastrophe and there is no measure that President Biden and the Treasury can take to avoid it,” he recently emphasized. For the country to go into receivership would have a far-reaching economic impact, not just domestically, but worldwide.
With EFE, Reuters, AP
