[sethg]

If it weren’t for this mishegas with the debt ceiling, there would be no doubt that the US would be able to pay its obligations, and even if Congress doesn’t act in time, the 14th Amendment ensures that the bond-holders would be first in line to get paid.

The US is one of the largest economies in the world; its overall tax revenues are low compared with other developed countries; as someone else pointed out, it controls its own money supply; it has enjoyed low inflation for the past thirty years; Americans grumble about our taxes but unlike Argentines and Greeks, we generally pay what we owe.