What happens when the debt ceiling isn't raised

[Nancy Waterman]

needs to be spelled out clearly to voters. Very clearly. I don't fully get it myself. I assume if you don't raise it, people and countries will pull out of Treasury bonds because they will no longer be as safe an investment. If that happens, interest rates go up very quickly to lure people back in, because it is through treasury bonds that we finance the government when taxes aren't enough, which clearly they are not. Higher interest rates will lure people back in to investing in treasuries but also choke the very fragile economy. Most Americans, if they have investments or retirement savings, have at least some money in Treasuries either through pension funds or money market funds or other things. I don't know how not raising the debt ceiling will impact them. Can anyone here spell it all out, step by step? I think clarity here is essential and should be put out there loud and clear. My guess is that very few really understand what it means other than the "catastrophe" that Democrats are predicting. Details would make it seem far more threatening and perhaps elicit far more caution.