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Weekly Wrap

Our debt limit problems are over, right?

Kai Ryssdal May 10, 2013
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Weekly Wrap

Our debt limit problems are over, right?

Kai Ryssdal May 10, 2013
HTML EMBED:
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Fannie Mae said on Thursday that it’s paying $59.4 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury. So between that and the sequester, does this mean our debt limit problems are over?

“I think that it’s kind of impressive that this clever little accounting gimmick that Fannie Mae discovered about tax credits has turned into $60 billion of real money, which is going to the government — yay, good for them,” said Reuters’ Felix Salmon. “But the debt limit fight is absolutely certain to happen sooner or later, and at some point this year.”

Mostly, it’s good news for the government, said Bloomberg Government’s Nela Richardson.

“Not only do they not have to deal with the debt ceiling, they don’t have to deal with Fannie Mae,” she said. “The company’s now profitable and the calls for reform are much less frequent when the company is actually making the government and putting off decisions for the government. It’s a win-win all around.”

Listen to the full audio for more analysis.

#Longreads

Time to catch up on the week with our Wrappers’ picks for #longreads for the weekend!

Felix Salmon suggests:

Nela Richardson picked:

And a bonus from both:

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