Once or twice a decade really. And when the Republicans (it's always them) tie raising this artificial construct to their political goals, it causes panic. At s

Once or twice a decade really. And when the Republicans (it's always them) tie raising this artificial construct to their political goals, it causes panic. At some point, the madman putting a gun to your head may pull the trigger. The debt limit has nothing to do with budgeting or spending limits. It is a foolish hack in US law that lets the Treasury borrow money to pay for our spending already authorized. Ideally it would go away entirely.