The American president, in the midst of a standoff with Republican opposition over the national debt, predicted an economic disaster yesterday Wednesday if USA be forced to announce a suspension of payments for an extended period of time.

Presidential advisers Joe Biden on economic issues, they estimate that if the world’s largest economic power defaults on its debt over an extended period of time, it will lose more than 8 million jobs and its GDP will fall by 6% or more.

The stock market will lose 45% of its value in the third quarter, predicts the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

They pointed out that even if the US federal government defaulted for a short period of time, the US economy would experience rising unemployment and a recession, however small.

The presidency has unveiled a disaster scenario as President Biden is trying to step up pressure on the right over public debt.

The 80-year-old Democrat says Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, should urgently and unconditionally vote with Democrats to raise the federal debt ceiling.

He called four bipartisan Congressional leaders to a meeting the following Tuesday, May 9th.

The opposition demands that in order to approve any increase in public debt, a sharp reduction in public spending is needed within ten years.

The issue of raising the national debt limit, which is a feature of the United States, was for a long time considered a mere formality, but during the years of Barack Obama’s presidency, it unexpectedly found itself at the center of political controversy.

The federal government has actually already surpassed the infamous $31 trillion mark since mid-January and has so far been tackling the problem with accounting maneuvers.

However, the Treasury Department warns that if there is no consent and a vote in Congress, the federal government may be forced to start sharp cuts in various categories of social spending from June 1. Before default, an unprecedented government bankruptcy, a situation that will have consequences not only for the American, but also for the global economy.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}