High Stakes

The stakes rise as we approach the debt limit and the risk of default — which the Treasury Department notes could have an impact like that of the 2008 financial crisis and “has the potential to be catastrophic.” Astonishingly, Republican hard-liners see that potential catastrophe as a source of bargaining power in a game of extortion: We don’t want anything to happen to this fine American economy as we approach the debt limit, so you’d better meet our demands.
( Source: NYTimes.com | Governing by Blackmail )
“…has the potential to be catastrophic…”
“…bargaining power in a game of extortion…”
Wild that we’re talking about our government and economy.