Having spent a couple of weeks following long Metafilter discussions of the U.S. federal government shutdown, it’s slightly staggering how little attention the British media are paying it now that the novelty has passed. That’ll change sharpish if the debt ceiling is breached. For those who haven’t been following along, here are a few links that caught my attention in those threads.
A U.S. default would be a catastrophe dwarfing Lehman’s fall.
What happens if the debt ceiling is breached?
Absolutely everything you need to know about the debt ceiling.
Why are we talking about the debt ceiling crisis as if it’s normal politics?
A federal budget crisis months in the planning.
The little rule change that guaranteed a shutdown.
Even if the debt ceiling crisis is resolved, the shutdown has already managed to derail a whole summer’s worth of Antarctic science at a time the world can ill-afford it.
12 October 2013