美国有线新闻 CNN 2014-02-12

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The US national debit³ is 13.3 trillion dollars and counting, it's the highest level in any country in the world. The debt limit or ceiling was created during World War One, it was intended to limit how much government spent. But congress has always raised it when it hit. How we hit again. That' what congress expect to do again. 

 

It's back in town, the debt limit circus. But the juggling⁴ is the convention kind you might find big top, this juggling uses special accounting⁵ rules and billions dollars. Treasury⁶ Secretary Jacob Lew has some experience in juggling in fact, he is a pretty good juggler⁷ after all. He had to do this last fall, but like the movie Groundhog Day, we were back to the same place. Effectively the treasury can't borrow more money to run the country, because we reach the legal debt limit. That's right, to run the country we have to borrow some money to do everything we promised. Lew now has to use accounting trick to keep US solvent⁸, but it can't do it very long, its already warned but if the deal isn't done by the end of the month, American risks a default on some of its obligations. The smart money that congress comes up to deal next few weeks, that we avoid a market meltdown, a global panic, sparking interest rates. House keeper John already saying it even getting close to the default isn't option this time, in after last fall government shut down republican and democratic seem don't have much stomach for a standoff, so the juggling has begun for now and investors⁹ can watch Jack¹⁰ Lew pull off more daring moves by time to keep US fiscal¹¹ free fall until congress get budget deal, but it needs a deal soon. 

 

The Obama administration is taking another step to support same sex marriage, its spending how the government recognizes it.  What this means? Same sex couples will get the same federal benefit as hetero sex couples do, wherever US government has jurisdiction¹², so this will apply in court cases, prison visitations when it comes to spouse¹³ benefit when a police officer or fire fighter killed on the job. It does not legalize same sex marriage in all 50 states, currently 17 states allow that.  But it means same sex couples who get married in the states where easily go will get government benefit even if they leaving in the states where its not. US attorney general says it will change countless¹⁴ lives in same sex couples for the better. Some critics say the government is going too far, the national organization of marriage says it undermines the authority of states to make their own decisions about how marriage handled under law. 

 

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