Monday’s T-Bill Auction Will Send National Debt Over The Debt Limit
After spending months talking about the debt limit, we’ve finally reached the inevitable:
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Treasury Department auctioned $56 billion in new debt Tuesday and Wednesday, enough to take the U.S. over its federal debt ceiling when the three- and 10-year notes settle on Monday.
Treasury officials last month flagged May 16 as the day the government would hit the $14.294 trillion debt limit.
The U.S. is selling $72 billion in new debt over three days this week. The Treasury auctioned $32 billion in three-year notes Tuesday and $24 billion in 10-year notes Wednesday, and will sell $16 billion in 30-year bonds Thursday. All of the auctions will settle Monday.
As of Tuesday, total debt subject to the limit was $14.274 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.
The Obama administration has asked Congress to raise the limit, warning that failure to act could lead the government to default by Aug. 2–and could spook investors even before then.
Meanwhile, our leaders continue to fiddle while Rome burns.
They are going to go past the limit with this new auction, so why ask to raise the limit at all? It seems they are just ignoring it anyway. But then this fits the pattern of this administration so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.
I agree with Patrick T. McGuire. What’s the point in a debt ceiling? The government either ignores it or raise it when it becomes a hindrances.