Today is Friday, January the 20th, 20, 23.

This is the Daily Article podcast narrated by Chris Elkins of the Denison Forum.

Today's article is written by Denison Forum's senior editor for Theology, Dr. Ryan Denison.

The United States hit its debt ceiling on Thursday.

The Treasury Department responded by taking measures intended to buy more time before the

country risks defaulting on its debt.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted that the measure would be sufficient for roughly

five months, though she cautioned that there is considerable uncertainty regarding that time

frame. But this is hardly the

first time Congress has come to such an impasse and few believe the government will actually fail

to raise the debt ceiling when the time comes. So why all the fear are over the present debate?

Given that the markets have largely shrugged off the development, it seems like those who

follow the financials

most closely see the Republican refusal as political grandstanding rather than seeking genuine

reform. In fact, the primary reason the debt ceiling is even an issue is that House Speaker

Kevin McCarthy promised to attach spending cuts to any conversation about raising the debt ceiling

in order to garner the necessary support to win his position.

Productive negotiations seem unlikely, however, with the White House publicly saying they will

not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. White House press secretary, Corrine Jean-Pierre,

stated Thursday that it is Congress's

constitutional duty to come to a resolution that prevents the government from going into default.

Democrats in Congress appear to agree. While that stance also seems more political than practical,

...