Posted on 05/21/2023 9:05:17 PM PDT by 11th_VA
You hear it everywhere. "The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt."
Yes, but: It’s not true. By the most basic definition of default — not making agreed-upon payments to those you owe — the U.S. has defaulted, arguably on multiple occasions.
Why it matters: The talking point on the pristine U.S. credit record is a key bit of rhetoric for those arguing that not raising the debt ceiling — which would ultimately mean missing payments the government owes — represents an unprecedented economic risk.
But in reality, the U.S. has failed to meet obligations in the past.
What they're saying: "Since 1789, the United States has paid all of our bills on time. It should stay that way," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in April.
"In our history, we have never defaulted on our debt or failed to pay our bills," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in April. "Since the United States has never defaulted on its debt, no one knows exactly how bad the financial carnage would be if it did," the Washington Post recently wrote.
Fact check: There have been at least three, admittedly distant, times when the U.S. failed to keep its financial word.
1814: Amid war with the British, the Treasury couldn't come up with the scratch to service its debts, with Treasury Secretary Alexander J. Dallas admitting, "the dividend on the funded debt has not been punctually paid; a large amount of treasury notes has already been dishonored."
1933-34: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's refusal to repay Treasury bondholders with gold, as agreed to when the securities were sold, represents an abrogation of the contract… 1979: The Treasury briefly missed payments on roughly $122 million in Treasury bills, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing issues with computer technology. Investors were repaid, with interest…
(Excerpt) Read more at axios.com ...
Yes 44 years ago was the last time. 1979 was an awful year.
‘78 wasn’t much better: Jim Jones, San Diego plane crash, 2 Popes died …
That’s true.
I remember my HS history teacher explaining to us young skulls full of mush how the US defaulted in 1814, a result of the fallout from the War of 1812
“Yes 44 years ago was the last time. 1979 was an awful year.”
Thank you Jimmy Carter.
Best to have a going out of business sale! DESKS, COMPUTERS, TOILET PAPER.....everything.country is bankrupt!
I wonder why the article neglected to include the civil war veteran’s bonus money that went unpaid...
We only default if we fail to pay intetest on the debt.
That, IIRC, has NEVER happened.
We can still make interest payments with revenue coming in.
If the US defaults it’s because Deep State has refused to write the check.
Scroll down to the comment by DelendaEstMarxismo that debunks the default crap. His numbers look good to me.
Exactly. Not raising the debt limit is not default; it simply means that the fedgov cannot borrow more and has to go on a cash basis. The administration would have great latitude to decide what to pay and where to trim. The operating deficit is huge and going overnight to a cash basis would be painful but it’s not the end of the world.
In a rational country, debt service would have first call, followed by truly essential services. This is the drill whenever there is a budget standoff leading to a short government “shutdown.” Debt service, national defense, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, air traffic control, etc. all continue.
THIS administration? Resettlement of illegal aliens, transexual surgical mutilations and DEI diktats will be safe, but they will go out of their way to maximize pain to the rest of us as an extortion strategy.
If we default on the debt or fail to pay Social Security, it is because Biden has other priorities. Biden is a wrecker.
“This is the drill whenever there is a budget standoff leading to a short government “shutdown.” Debt service, national defense, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, air traffic control, etc. all continue.
THIS administration? Resettlement of illegal aliens, transexual surgical mutilations and DEI diktats will be safe, but they will go out of their way to maximize pain to the rest of us as an extortion strategy.
If we default on the debt or fail to pay Social Security, it is because Biden has other priorities. Biden is a wrecker.”
Yes, exactly. NPR will run stories on how some laid off gov worker can’t pay the mortgage or health insurance.
I’m sitting in a doc’s office waiting room, which is just about the only way I would ever hear broadcast news. A reporter was raising the alarm about how Americans might miss Social Security payments.
Well, yes, but only if that is Biden’s choice, because he would rather pay for X, Y and Z first.
1979, while an awful year, brought us Ronald Reagan in the Fall of 1980.
Still much better than 536 !!!
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