American President Joe Bidenand Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy concluded Sunday after marathon talks, agreement in principle to raise the federal government’s borrowing limit. This agreement eliminates the threat of a default by the world’s largest economy early next month.

However, the agreement must providegreen light» Congress and it is already causing controversy from progressive Democrats and radical Republicans, with some talk of “capitulation.” “This may not satisfy everyone, but it’s a step in the right direction that no one expected,” a Republican “speaker” told Fox News yesterday, defending the fruits of difficult negotiations. He also predicted that a “majority” of Republican MPs would support the text.

And this, of course, is not the only time the US government has had serious problems with raising the debt limit. The last one was in 2011, during the presidency Barack Obamawho appointed him as an experienced vice president, Joe Bidennegotiate with a “hostile” Republican-controlled Congress.

The main advantage of the incumbent president was his acquaintance with several Republican officials, and in particular with their leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell. It is worth noting that Biden, who has been elected to the Senate since the 70s, enjoyed special respect in Republican circles. Using these “resources”, Biden finally managed to “close” the deal with McConnell and the head of the House of Representatives, John Boehner.

However, about 12 years later, once again raising the federal government’s debt limit is making Washington dizzy. The traditionally more conservative part of the Republican side is calling for cuts in social spending, anathematizing the social-liberal wing of the Democrats.

This year in January The US debt has reached the allowable limit of 31.4 trillion. dollarsthat however triple relative to the level of debt in 2008 (10 trillion US dollars) and approx. 10 times compared to 1990 ($3.2 trillion). The US Treasury has held off new borrowing since January to avoid going over the debt ceiling, covering its costs with current income and some accounting tricks. However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the US Treasury would not be able to pay its obligations from June 1 without raising the ceiling.

A US default on its bonds would obviously have a domino effect on international markets and on the US and global economy, given the size of the US debt. This makes it unlikely that a solution will not be found.

It wasn’t until early May, however, that the main processes began to come to a compromise between the White House and the Republicans, who have a majority in the House of Representatives and are asking for a series of spending cuts to give the green light. “to increase the debt limit. .

President Joe Biden asked the Republicans to raise the limit without the conditions they set for spending cuts, but then, seeing that they were not moving, he entered into negotiations. Politically, this is difficult as Republicans call for more restrictions on food and other welfare benefits for economically disadvantaged Americans.

But has the US always been in debt?

Back in 1835, there was the first and only time that the entire interest-bearing debt of the US government was paid off. President Andrew Jackson, who was suspicious of banks, especially the Central Bank, liquidated what was known as the “Second Bank of the United States”, returning the government’s initial investment plus profits. This bank was created in April 1816 in part to manage federal government debt during the War of 1812.

When was the debt ceiling set?