Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced May 16 that the U.S. government has reached its legal debt limit, and that he had to dip into federal pensions to meet the country’s obligations. And if Republicans stick to their demands for major spending cuts, Geithner is going to have to start getting even more creative. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. When Democrats decided to pass on raising the nation’s $14.29 trillion debt limit during the 111th Congress’ lame duck session this December, the game plan for the 112th Congress was simple: scare “responsible” Republicans into voting to raise the debt...