ICYMI: 200+ Economists Urge Congress to Swiftly Address the Debt Limit Without Conditions

Today, a wide range of bipartisan economists, including former Chair of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, Vice Chairs of the Federal Reserve Alan Blinder and Roger Ferguson, and Nobel prize winners Robert Engle, Bengt Holmstrom, Edmund Phelps, Robert Solow, and Joseph Stiglitz sent a letter to Congressional leadership stating, "We have a wide range of views on economic policies, some 'conservative' some 'liberal,' but we all agree that Congress should raise the debt limit promptly and without conditions in order to eliminate the risk of default."

They warned that, "The economic consequences of a federal default are unpredictable, but frightening. A swift and severe economic downturn could follow, with unnecessary layoffs across the economy. Chaos in world financial markets is highly likely. Higher borrowing costs for the federal government, and indeed for all Americans, could remain with us for a long time—an unwanted legacy of a foolish decision. We should not run the experiment."

Read letter here.