Deputy Treasury Sec. On Debt Ceiling: It’ll Get Worse the Closer We Get to the Deadline

EXCERPT:

ADEYEMO: "So, let’s go back to 2011. In 2011, although at the last minute they avoided default, the stock market fell down about 20%. If you have a 401(k), that’s going to impact your 401(k). A few weeks ago, the United States government auctioned off bills, and we paid $80 million more to sell that debt than we would have. That’s $80 million we’re not spending on your children’s education, on infrastructure. As you know, when you want to borrow to buy a house or to pay for your small business, the rate that you borrow at is set off of the rate that the government borrows at plus something. If the government’s rate of of borrowing goes up because we default on our debt, that means it’ll be harder for you to buy a home, to get a car, to get a loan for your small business. So this is already having real-world impacts and it will only get worse the closer we get to the deadline, which, as the Secretary has said, is highly likely to be early June."