We have never had a failure to raise the debt limit. We have had a number of Government shutdowns and they have created problems, but they have not been as destructive as a debt limit failure would be.
Bernanke contrasts the impacts of government shutdowns with the potential disaster of failing to raise the debt limit.
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The economy needed help from Congress--if not from additional spending (on roads and bridges for example), then at least in areas such as retraining unemployed workers.
Right now our concern is that the Chinese currency policy is blocking what might be a more normal recovery process in the global economy, and it is to an extent hurting our recovery.
We can't defund the police. We need police, but there are concerns about police community relations and police behavior.
Yes, my suggestion to Congress is to consider possibilities that involve somewhat less restraint in the near term and more action to make sure that we are on a sustainable path in the long run.
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