Americans take notice as Australia repeals its debt ceiling

The Australian government has scrapped its debt ceiling. The government will no longer need to ask Parliament for permission to borrow above its now-defunct AUD$300 billion limit, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Read: Buffett’s best debt ceiling quotes

The country would have hit its debt ceiling Dec. 12, and the ruling Liberal party faced opposition from the Labour party on raising the debt ceiling to AUD$500 billion. Instead it negotiated a deal for support with the Green party, in exchange for more transparency on the government’s climate change efforts, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The move is “really sensible” and the United States should think about ditching its debt ceiling too, says Business Insider columnist Joe Weisenthal.

“The debt ceiling doesn’t constrain borrowing. All it does is create the semi-frequent potential for systemic collapse,” he writes.

Read more here and here.

Also read:

U.S. working on long-term budget solution

Obama and investors get creative to avoid default

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.