- by Yueqing
- 07 30, 2024
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America is once again in the throes of a debt-ceiling crisis. If Congress and the White House do not come to a deal, the government may run out of cash and be on the brink of a sovereign default in less than a fortnight. Most investors expect a last-minute compromise, as during past crises. So does President Joe Biden. Yet positions on each side of the aisle look entrenched: Republicans want big spending cuts; Democrats are resisting. Thus the White House must also consider its break-glass options. If there is no agreement, what would Mr Biden do?There are two broad kinds of workarounds that the Biden administration could use to manage the fallout from a debt-ceiling disaster. One is magical, the other messy and neither appealing.