The debt limit is a completely artificial, political game. Congress passes laws which have costs associated with them. Then they, separately, decide whether the

The debt limit is a completely artificial, political game. Congress passes laws which have costs associated with them. Then they, separately, decide whether they will authorize payment for those laws. The costs should be automatically authorized. Republicans get to score political points by pretending to control spending, when in fact they raised the limit every time they wanted to give tax cuts to their wealthy donors. It's hostage taking, because they understand that the Democrats will act responsibly. They get to threaten to destroy things as a negotiating tactic.