It’s shaping up to be one of those weeks when what takes place inside the Beltway makes absolutely no sense to those of us living outside it. Having spent the better part of the past half-decade digging out from a horrific economic slump, small business owners care nothing for the uncertainty, bickering and showboating that are the games lawmakers play when the U.S. debt limit must be raised or a budget must be approved.

But what happens if those fail to happen?

According to SmartPlanet.com, it won’t look pretty:

The debt ceiling was created in 1917 during World War I to restrain spending; it limits the amount of bonds that the U.S. can issue. It has routinely been raised since then, and has been raised 14 times from 2001-2013 between Presidents Bush and Obama. In comparison, President Reagan requested it be raised 18 times during the 1980s. Congressional Republicans are refusing to raise it again unless a list of demands is met — several of which have absolutely nothing to do with spending or debt. The irony is that the debt ceiling isn’t an effective tool to lower government spending, according to Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management finance professor Janice Eberly. “What the debt ceiling doesn’t do? Alter spending or the budget deficit. The budget deficit has fallen faster than forecast and continues to drop. Raising the debt ceiling doesn’t change that downward path — it just allows us to pay out what has already been promised by legislation,” she said in an e-mail.

Full story: “Economic Armageddon: a list of what happens if the U.S. defaults” (SmartPlanet.com)

(Image via: Virginia Tech)

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