During the height of the latest trans-Atlantic banking crisis, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was full of reassurances that everything was fine, and that there’s nothing to worry about. Yesterday, in remarks to the Independent Community Bankers of America trade group, she went into high-gear histrionics—not about the unresolved banking crisis, but about the heavily choreographed budget ceiling debate.
“Time is running out” for Congress to act, she warned, or the U.S. could default on its debt on June 1. “A U.S. default would generate an economic and financial catastrophe … (an) unprecedented economic and financial storm…. A default would crack open the foundations upon which our financial system is built … (leading to) worldwide panic, triggering margin calls, runs, and fire sales.”
