Published Oct 28, 2026, 8:30 AM ET · Updated 16 days ago · 1 source

US midterms could trigger a debt ceiling showdown worse than 2011

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Original Report
INFERY
US midterms could trigger a debt ceiling showdown worse than 2011

Some readers, especially non-Americans, might wonder what the recurring squabbles in Washington over the debt ceiling and government shutdowns mean. That’s understandable. In virtually every country in the world, when the legislature approves a budget that results in net new borrowing of, say, 50 billion euros (US$55.8 billion), the government is thereby authorised to take on that debt to finance the budget. Not so in the United States. There, the budget and borrowing authorisation are two...