So this is a matter of arithmetic. Fairly soon after that date there would have to be significant cuts in Social Security, Medicare, military pay, or some combination of those in order to avoid borrowing more money.
Ben Bernanke warns of the consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling, emphasizing the need for significant cuts.
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It is also important, of course, for community banks to be well-capitalized so that they can continue to lend during difficult periods.
We all agree that the burden of regulation falls particularly heavily on small community banks which don't have the resources to manage those regulations very effectively.
Congress, I hope, has the foresight to see that interest rates will not be this low forever.
If we are really interested in growing the economy, what we need to do is demonstrate that we can govern.
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