The Political Game of the Debt Limit: A 12-Year-Old Playbook.

The current fight over raising the US government's borrowing limit is being shaped by the lessons learned from the 2011 debt limit crisis. Republicans found that using the debt ceiling as leverage to curtail spending can work, while Democrats blamed budget cuts for sluggish growth throughout the rest of Barack Obama’s presidency. The debt limit fights of a decade ago forced government officials to explore once-unthinkable options like prioritization to avoid a financial meltdown after breaching the X-date. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding the debate, investors who finance the government’s debt are still holding out hope that a deal will be reached.