Debt ceiling 101: 12 questions about what's going on

The US Treasury has warned that as early as Oct. 17 it will no longer be able to cover all the government's rising financial obligations. Here’s your guide to the debt limit deadline and its implications.

10. Can Obama solve this some other way?

Charles Dharapak/AP
President Obama doused the 'magic coin' solution in his Oct. 8 press conference at the White House.

If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, the options dwindle quickly. Some commentators have called for the minting of what’s been dubbed a “magic coin” for a large denomination such as $1 trillion. Others say the president could cite the 14th Amendment to argue that the debt limit is unconstitutional. (The amendment says “the validity of the public debt … shall not be questioned.”)

But the Obama administration has voiced opposition and skepticism regarding these ideas. On Oct. 8, the president said such ploys could leave the issue tied up in court and would do little to reassure investors about America’s fiscal politics.

The only good solution, the Treasury secretary says, is for Congress to raise the debt limit.

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