Debt limit fight would deal economic blow, Treasury says
October 4, 2013
WASHINGTON — President Obama has long argued that a failure by Congress to raise the debt limit would have catastrophic consequences for the economy.
But a Treasury Department report Thursday argues that “even the prospect of a default can be disruptive to financial markets and American businesses and families.” Using the 2011 debt limit battle as a case study, the Treasury Department says consumer confidence fell 22%, the stock market dropped 17% and monthly payments on new mortgages went up an average of $100 — all because of market uncertainty over an increase in the $16.7 trillion debt limit.