Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Thursday the U.S. debt limit will be exhausted Nov. 3, two days before previously estimated.
“At that point, we expect Treasury would be left with less than $30 billion to meet all of the nation’s commitments — an amount far short of net expenditures on certain days, which can be as high as $60 billion,” Lew said in a letter.
“Operating the United States government with no borrowing authority, and with only the cash on hand on a given day, would be profoundly irresponsible. As I wrote previously, we anticipate that a remaining cash balance of less than $30 billion would be depleted quickly,” he said.
Lew also said the U.S. government would not be able to meet most of its obligations without a higher debt ceiling and thus urged Congress to raise it.
“We have learned from the past that failing to act until the last minute can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States,” he said.
Last Friday, Lew made similar remarks at an International Monetary Fund meeting in Peru, saying: “Congress needs to act or we could be faced with a crisis.”
Of course, you’ve got Harry Reid pushing for this, blaming the crisis on the Republicans again. Reid sounds old and doddery. Look for Boehner and McConnell to run in and do exactly what the Democrats want once more. Same old crap, different day. Here’s a reality check. As if the $18.5 Trillion debt wasn’t bad enough, total US debt is actually $65.5 Trillion. I can’t even grasp that number and I’m an accountant. It boggles your mind and you just turn from it. Our total debt is up 143% since 2000. Unfunded liabilities are at a cool $99 Trillion. Foreigners hold $6 Trillion of our debt. We are not the only country in big doo doo here. Most are, but I care about the US. We are killing ourselves quickly here. Someone needs to turn off the spigots before we turn the lights off and call it a night as a nation.