So you thought this shutdown thing was bad? (Update: four FB friends and counting currently not getting paid). Wait until the debt ceiling in two weeks. Then the sh*t will really hit the fan. I highly (and truly) recommend heading to the ATM next week and getting out a pile of greenback dollar bills if we go down this path again with the debt ceiling.
It seems so virtual, but when Treasury Bills (government debt) are no longer what we say they are, then the definition of money itself becomes a debatable topic. Something close to this happened in 2008 (or happened so quickly you only noticed the five-year recession and not the 5-day freeze up inside the system). The hero at the time was the Treasury Department. This time, they will be the villain, and there will be no hero (unless maybe you are into bitcoin).
In 2008, your ATM, credit card, and bank account were perilously close to being non-functional nor accessible to you (your money – the stuff that you use for groceries and gas). This is not some vague concept about eventual interest rate hikes, or increased unemployment, or prioritizing payments. This is messing with the fundamental definition of the most liquid asset in the world economy.
This is next week’s congressional Cat Toy.
No comments:
Post a Comment