America faces a debt nightmare

On a wall in Manhattan, not far from Times Square, America’s debt clock ticks higher, from $3trn when it was inaugurated in 1989 to more than $31trn today. After climbing for so many years with no obvious economic fallout, it is easy to ignore, not least because it was moved from its location on a busy street corner to a quiet passageway. But its relentless climb is suddenly a risk to the global economy. That is because its numbers are now butting up against America’s debt ceiling—a device as manufactured as the clock itself, though one that presents a far graver danger.