The World from Berlin: 'The US Is Holding the Whole World Hostage' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

The World from Berlin: 'The US Is Holding the Whole World Hostage' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International: "The US needs to raise its debt ceiling, currently set at $14.3 trillion (€10.1 trillion), by Aug. 2, otherwise the country will run out of money. But negotiations between President Barack Obama and top Republicans and Democrats have so far failed to make progress.

Obama has now given congressional leaders until Saturday morning to reconsider their positions. 'It's decision time. We need concrete plans to move this forward,' Obama said on Thursday, the fifth day of talks, following an inconclusive negotiating session.

Financial markets, which have previously viewed the negotiations with calm, are beginning to get nervous amid fears that Republicans and Democrats may be unable to reach an agreement by Aug. 2. Any default on the part of the US could have incalculable effects on global financial markets and could hurt the fragile recovery in the US. Moody's and Standard & Poor's have warned they may cut the country's top AAA credit rating if a solution isn't reached.

Republicans want any increase in the debt ceiling to be met by spending cuts equal to the same amount, as well as more serious efforts by the government to address the debt problem. Democrats are open to certain cuts but want tax increases in return. With presidential elections coming up in 2012, neither side wants to be seen as ceding ground.

On Friday, German commentators react with concern to the ongoing stalemate.

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

'The bitter debate in Washington about raising the debt ceiling has largely left the financial markets cold. … The market players apparently expect that an agreement will be reached in time. That's the only possible explanation for their surprisingly calm response.'

'We can only hope that the top politicians in Washington take Moody's warning seriously, despite the relaxed response from the financial markets so far. A US default and a lower credit rating would … send stock prices through the floor and could choke off America's economic recovery -- with global repercussions. The politicians in Washington are playing with fire. A swift compromise is needed. Nobody needs a US default.'

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

'It's actually unimaginable. On August 2, the US could, for the first time in its history, become insolvent because the Republican majority in the House of Representatives refuses to raise the ceiling on the national debt. But until now, everyone is acting as if it will all be OK and the politicians in Washington will come to their senses in time.'

'The Republicans are playing with fire. Nobody can imagine what the repercussions might be if the unthinkable happens and the US is suddenly no longer a safe haven for investors. Anything is possible, from a small, barely perceptible amount of turbulence in the financial markets to a global panic. Congress should think carefully about what it is doing.'

The conservative Die Welt writes:

'In this period of competing debt crises, America and Europe are looking at each other in amazement, with each side understanding less and less about what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic. While Europe's chaos is obvious to the Europeans and the rest of the world, there are few signs of self-doubt or self-awareness in the US. In the middle of the poker game between the two political parties to prevent a national default on Aug. 2, polls show that 77 percent of Americans believe that they live in the world's greatest system of government. Just as many are convinced that life is only worth living as an American.'

'Democrats and Republicans are so hopelessly embroiled in a religious war that compromise and pragmatism are just dreams from a far-off era of reason. …

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