Warren Buffett calls the debt ceiling a “nuclear
weapon, too horrible to use.” Obama administration official Jason Furman says
the consequence of a default on U.S. government debt is “too terrible to think
about.” When asked about a default, Wells Fargo strategist James Kochan simply
commented, “Holy cripes.”
With this crisis, America is risking financial
Armageddon. The default of Lehman Brothers on its $613 billion of debt ignited
a chain reaction in the financial system, nearly destroying the U.S. economy. A
default by the U.S. government on $17 trillion of debt — debt that has been
considered the safest in the world — could be far worse.
