Ex-IMF Chief Economist: Debt Ceiling Default Would Be “A Calamity”

Benjy Sarlin | June 22, 2011, 5:45AM

With a number of Republicans musing that failing to pass a debt increase might not be so bad after all, TPM floated the idea by someone who knows a thing or two about countries facing default: former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson.

"It would be very damaging, there's no question about that," Johnson said of a debt ceiling default. "It would really destabilize financial markets and lead to all sorts of unpleasant repercussions in the United States and around the world."