Here's What Will Happen If The Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised And The U.S. Defaults

04-14-2011 • BusinessInsider.com/

PBS has a transcript of the show, which has a number of great quotes from Ben Bernanke, Jamie Dimon, Nouriel Roubini, on the topic of a debt default. Specifically, they all talk about the effects of a default on bond prices, but the potential effects so bad that it really shows the effects on the financial markets across entire world. One quote from Jamie Dimon is especially chilling: Now, here's what really would happen. Every single company with treasuries, every insurance fund, every -- every requirement that -- it will start snowballing. Automatic, you don't pay your debt, there will be default by ratings agencies. All short-term financing will disappear. I would have hundreds of work streams working around the world protecting our company for that kind of event. And recently, he told the US Chamber of Commerce, "If anyone wants to [cap the debt ceiling], which I think would be catastrophic and unpredictable, I think they're crazy."