“It’s more of a convenient moral gymnastics to say that people who cheat the federal government should be given a lighter touch than people who borrowed from it,” said economist Kathryn Anne Edwards.

S&P Global Ratings found there’s also a rise in companies that default multiple times.

Raising the federal government’s borrowing limit isn’t about spending. It’s about how money works.

Investing in Russian debt while it’s cheap can pay dividends but comes with uncertainty and reputation risk.

“The long-term implications are severe,” one expert says, and can scare away foreign investors.