Understanding the Public Debt

Pierre Lemieux

Chapter Chapter 2 in The Public Debt Problem, 2013, pp 9-28 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Until August 3, 2011, the federal debt ceiling was set at $14.3 trillion, meaning that the federal government was not legally allowed to increase its debt above that amount. On that day, Congress increased it to $15.2 trillion. Otherwise, an imminent shutdown of nonessential government operations and payments was looming, if not a default on the Treasury securities (bonds issued by the federal government) that were soon becoming due. It was not the first time that Congress had jacked up the debt ceiling: since the ceiling was established in 1917, it has been increased more than 100 times.

Keywords: Federal Government; Public Debt; Social Security Administration; Government Accountability Office; Pension Liability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-31302-7_2

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DOI: 10.1057/9781137313027_2

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