Budget impasse and debt crisis may form into economic superstorm

By Marc Castro

Oct 12, 2013 01:48 PM EDT

Lawmakers, be it Democrats and Republican, often warn everyone about the consequences of laws passed they do not like often because of the gloom and doom partisanship. Now though, many are feeling the aftershocks of two storms, namely the government shutdown and default on debts that can eventually become a superstorm to wreak havoc on the US economy.

October 1 was the date the partial shutdown occurred due to a Congress that could not agree on a specific budget. As a result, thousands of federal workers being furloughed, many federal services closed with many non-essential services put on hold. 

What the shutdown does not directly threaten are Social Security operations, as well as other mandatory benefots or US interest payments on the blossoming US national debt. If the debt ceiling is not passed, then these services would be affected.

Without the debt ceiling, the government would not have legal authority to enter into debt and pay its bills, according to the Treasury Department. A default would pull down the status of the US greenback as the reserve currency of the world. Currently, about 60% of all the world's foreign currency reserves are US dollar denominated, making it the prime currency in international trade.

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