As of this writing, it seems that the treasury has been over the debt limit every day in the month of February(and a few days in January, as well). The Total Debt is, as of Valentine's Day, $8,209,586,113,365.83. The debt limit set by Congress is $8.18 trillion.
I've been watching this since the end of January, waiting to see what kind of spin the treasury would use on this. "Well, we borrowed more than we were allowed to by law, but some of it was, uh... borrowed from ourselves?" ("Carribean" Central Banks)
Maybe: "Oh, no, don't worry, the Federal Reserve is monetizing to pay back what we borrowed."
I understand and expect that the government is going to spend way more than it takes in, thus either borrowing huge amounts, or printing money to spend and destroying the currency. That's what governments do. Take from some to give to others, and when you can't take enough to give out (this week's Mogambo notes that 1 out of every 7 workers now works for the government), print or borrow to keep giving, so you can keep getting elected.
I just find it amazing that we've reached a spot where the government is openly violating it's own laws, and no one is calling them on it.
It would seem the media is ignoring this. For instance, Reuters mentions that the limit will have to be raised, but doesn't make the obvious note that, hey, we're already freaking there. Doesn't anyone in the media read the Mogambo?
Absolutely amazing.
Maybe it's time for some angry letters written in black magic marker on newspaper.
