Do Away With the Debt Ceiling?

Moody's has come up with a solution to the debt-ceiling imbroglio that has been plaguing Washington, D.C.: Just do away with the idea altogether. The rating agency points out that the United States is one of the few countries where the legislature sets a ceiling on government debt to being with, and argues that the entire concept is outdated. Moody's asserts that the it would lessen the risk it assigns to government debt without the debt ceiling getting in the way.

This process used to be much more cumbersome than what we have now. Congress first established a firm debt limit in 1917 to help finance World War I. Prior to that, every time the Treasury Department wanted to sell bonds to raise money, it had to ask Congress for approval. The debt ceiling was intended to streamline the process and give Treasury the leeway it needed to issue debt without it getting out of control.

Congress has raised that limit a grand total of 102 times since 1917. Just since 2001, the debt ceiling has been raised ten different times. Is it time to stop moving those goalposts?