So if there is no deal on the deficit ceiling-What happens??As it turns out, the last time there wasn't a deal regarding the deficit ceiling I was taking my annual two month vacation n Tucson Arizona. So I saw what happened first hand.
So what happened?
1....interest on the US debt continued to be paid so there was no default on the National Debt
2....the President shut down Government services except for who he deemed to be essential services and those Government workers who were deemed not essential got a holiday (they later got paid for the time off!!)
So what are essential services?
Not necessarily what you think. There was a lot of politics in this decision. For example, while in Tuscon, I cycled everyday and some of those days I cycled in Saguaro National Park. The people at the ticket gate which actually raised money for the Government were deemed non-essential so people go into the Park for free. Park rangers (of whom I saw only one over a dozen years) were deemed essential.