'The U.S. is the only major country that places a binding legal limit on the amount of debt that the Treasury can issue.'
Denmark has a debt limit, but it's deliberately set at such a high level that it's not a constraint. We and other budget analystsAs the recent turmoil in the United Kingdom illustrates, financial markets can be extremely sensitive to fiscal policy missteps and political uncertainty, particularly when the economy is already fragile.
Under the present circumstances, even the serious threat of a U.S. default could be enough to roil markets and further damage the global economy. Congress should therefore raise, suspend, or abolish the debt ceiling in a timely way and should not engage in reckless brinksmanship by insisting on attaching other controversial measures.