Key takeaways:
- The influx of cash to the IRS has allowed federal bean-counters to give policymakers a more precise picture of when the Treasury could run out of money.
- Some Republicans are trying to extend the deadline by simply saying it is later.
- The White House has not ruled out helping Republicans out with their self-created crisis planning.
The United States is facing an unprecedented default as it is bumping up against its legal limit for borrowing. This has caused a debt-limit hostage-taking standoff between Congress and the White House, with no agreement in sight. In the midst of this, the recent funding increase for the IRS has had an unexpected side benefit.
The influx of cash has allowed the IRS to catch up on processing new and backlogged tax returns, which in turn has allowed federal bean-counters to give policymakers a more precise picture of when the Treasury could run out of money, or the so-called X-date. This has caused some Republicans to come up with a different way of extending the deadline: simply say the deadline is later.
Axios reported two nights ago that many Republicans simply don’t believe the government will run out of money in early June. The White House has not ruled out helping Republicans out with their self-created crisis planning, though it has not made any commitments either.
The debt-limit hostage-taking standoff between Congress and the White House has caused much uncertainty and worry. The nation is stepping uncomfortably close to an unprecedented default that could have catastrophic effects on the global economy. It remains to be seen if the two sides will be able to come to an agreement and avert a potential disaster.
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