The looming debt ceiling crisis threatens economic disaster and national security.

The US government is once again approaching the debt ceiling, and this time the consequences could be even more dire than in 2011. The political climate is more polarized and intransigent, and the government's fiscal condition and the American economy as a whole are more fragile. Even the slightest doubt that the US government will pay its bills could push up interest rates and the federal deficit, ultimately costing the American economy and its consumers in the form of higher prices for goods. The two parties have yet to reach a compromise, and analysts say there isn't a sense of urgency until investors and others push the two sides to the table for serious talks.