If Congress does not increase the debt ceiling, then the United States will lose its AAA debt ratings as a result of defaulting on their obligations. Since agreement has not yet been reached as to whether or not the debt ceiling should be raised some experts say that Obama should invoke the 14th Amendment which will give him power to overrule any decision that Congress makes against the raising of the ceiling.
The nation’s current deficit is at US $ 14.46 trillion while the imposed debt limit has been at US $ 14.28 trillion indicating that the debt is clearly about $ 200 billion above the imposed limit set by Congress.
The reason why it is so crucial for Congress to comply with raising the debt ceiling is because the International Monetary Fund has warned the United States of the consequences (as mentioned earlier) of losing its prestigious ratings, and this will have a severe impact on the economy.
With so much at stake, some experts believe that the only way to avert such a crisis is for the President to invoke the 14th Amendment while also deeming the debt ceiling placed by Congress as unconstitutional. Yet there are other repercussions to consider as this will only create a larger rift between Congress and the White House while also making an impact on investors too.
Other experts are of the opinion that the President shouldn’t overrule the Congress’ debt limit but only use it in a last ditch effort to prevent the United States from defaulting yet the President has not only dodged questions as to whether he will invoke this amendment in the case of an impasse in Congress.