The debt ceiling should be non-negotiatable. Yet, there’s a negotiation going on. That alone seems like a political defeat. What’s being negotiated? What’s at stake? What’s the debt ceiling? Let’s review. First, here are some answers to several questions you had but were too embarrassed to ask. Next, from WaPo: 7 doomsday scenarios if the U.S. crashes through the debt ceiling. Here’s the chief economist of Moody’s with an overview of what happens if no deal is reached. “It would be a lethal combination. You can see how this thing could really metastasize and take down the entire financial system, which would ultimately take out the economy.”

+ Slate: “Because Senate Democrats lack 60 votes to pass a so-called clean debt limit increase, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been able to force the Biden administration to the negotiating table with this bill. But there is some spin at work here from Biden’s team. The administration, which had refused to negotiate over the debt ceiling, is saying that it’s negotiating with Republicans just on the normal budget and appropriations process. Uh-huh.”

+ The Atlantic (Free Article): “The White House and Congress have not made much progress in their talks to avert an unprecedented, and potentially calamitous, national default that could occur as soon as early June. But on the most fundamental point of dispute, President Joe Biden has already caved: He’s negotiating with Republicans over the debt ceiling.”