Economist Peter Schiff, a known gold bull, on Monday took to Twitter to slam the federal government’s extravagant spending and voiced his opposition to raising the debt ceiling.
The debt ceiling is a limit on the total money the federal government can borrow through the sale of treasury securities such as bills, notes and bonds, to fulfill its financial obligation. When the government is unable to foot its bill, lawmakers pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling so that the government can raise finances to avoid default.
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In the past, when the debt ceiling was hit, Congress authorized suspension of the limit for a specific period before it is reinstated or passed legislation to raise it. If neither of these is done, it could lead to a partial government shutdown due to paucity of funds, which in turn can have wider economic ramifications.
Schiff said shutting down the federal government is much better than continuing to fund it with debt and inflation. “If a government shutdown is the only way to get #Congress to act responsibly then the sooner the government shuts down the better,” he added.
The national debt now stands at $31.37 trillion, threatening to top the current debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion. The ceiling could be hit between August and October. The Republicans who now control the House are opposed to raising the limit.
Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.