The high-wire drama of raising the US debt ceiling is making headlines again. Is there a better way? Perhaps Denmark has the answer.
The US Congress is once more arguing about the country’s debt ceiling – the limit on how much the government can borrow.
If the two major parties don’t agree on lifting the cap in the next few weeks, the US could for the first time in history default on its debt.
A default would send shockwaves through global financial markets and could be disastrous for the US economy, experts believe.
But Republicans, who control the lower chamber of Congress, want spending cuts before they will agree.
The ceiling was introduced more than a century ago and it makes the US something of an outlier in global terms.
Only one other industrialised nation – Denmark – has a formal debt ceiling, but it is handled without the drama and brinkmanship often seen in Washington.
In fact, the Danes’ debt ceiling is rarely ever talked about, because it’s never even come close to…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk