Kitchen Table Economics from AP

(AP)
The debt crisis has brought the government to the "kitchen table" to do something that hard-pressed families do routinely, which is tear their hair out over how to pay the bills.

Pawn the family jewelry? Emptying gold reserves at Fort Knox and other repositories could raise a very handy $400 billion.

Sell the property that has been in the family for generations? Yosemite National Park would fetch a pretty penny.

At least so far, such last-gasp ideas are not in serious play at Washington's kitchen table. But as the Aug. 2 deadline approaches for raising the country's borrowing limit, you can bet someone in the government is thinking about them. Economists are.

"The consequences of America defaulting on its debt are so unthinkable, catastrophic and costly that we should consider anything," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Martin Smith College of Business at California State University. "Sell gold, sell oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, do ANYTHING to avoid a default."

MORE:

Uber Editor:

I know few people who have a clue how badly off things are. People are buying books by Snooki and think Michelle Bachman is Ayn Rand.

There are so many stupid things goes on, I don't know where to start.

People are piling up debt like garbage bags after a picnic and will never be able to repay.

People are still getting help buying homes, in America, and Canada and a lot of other places, where they have no business owning a home.

You never own a home!

Don't pay your taxes and you will find out who own's your home.


Government gigs pay way more than the civil jobs and the perks are nuts.


Why does the US have Forces in 130 Countries?


Why does Canada have to put up with people coming here to have babies, or buy RE to get "citizenship" and contribute NOTHING to this Country?


The time will come when people are going to stand up and get pissed off.


That time is soon.