Debt-ceiling: Will Congress "tear up the bill"?

Financial news channels are abuzz with news about Treasury Department's scramble to avoid a debt meltdown....  dipping into pension funds now in order to keep the U.S. government operating.  (Lookit, the good news is, at least by implication, there are some pension funds still solvent...)

Were the Mayans off by a year?  Is this the week the U.S. credit card gets turned down and the nation has to go in the back and wash dishes to pay the dinner check?

Well, probably not.  All that's happening right now is, the U.S. is bumping up against its debt ceiling.  "The U.S. has a limit on how much it can borrow?," you ask.  Sure it does.  It's established by law.  What happens when we get close to the ceiling?  Well, either the U.S. has to stop borrowing, or it has to raise the ceiling. 

There's always a spirited debate, in which each party blames the other for the mess we're in, and talks about pet side issues like funding for abortions (mostly, Republicans) or the need to increase the minimum wage (mostly, Democrats.).

In the end, though, the measure always gets passed, for two reasons:  1. The Republicans want some wiggle room to be able to cut taxes, and the Democrats want some to be able to spend more money -- and indeed, after Bush and Obama, both parties want more money for support of the American Empire, the domestic war on terror, and other shared causes.  And:  2. Everyone wants to get re-elected.  The Republicans and Democrats are not so much like competing firms, as two branches of the same sailing club.  Everyone wants to stay in the club.  And club members are notoriously loathe to rock the boat.

One is reminded of Louie (Claude Raines) in Casablanca, offering to pick up a check for Victor Laslow.  Laslow is concerned the bill will be too high for Raines (the prefect of police) to handle on a public official's salary. "Oh, no, missour, it is a little game we play.  They bring me the bill; I tear up the bill.  It is very convenient." 

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