President Obama: Not wise to “flirt with…default”

President Obama said during his weekly address last week that the government shutdown has had a negative impact on the people the system was designed to serve, adding that it would be unwise to “flirt with a first-ever intentional default.”
“Because damage to America’s sterling credit rating wouldn’t just cause global markets to go haywire; it would become more expensive for everyone in America to borrow money,” Obama said. “Students paying for college. Newlyweds buying a home. It would amount to a new tax – a Republican default tax – on every family and business in America. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s not supposed to be this way.”
Obama said the longer the shutdown continues, the more markets will react, businesses will delay plans to invest and hire and unemployment will increase.

“Let’s pay our bills, and prevent an economic shutdown,” Obama said. “Then let’s get back to the work of the American people. Because there is so much else we should be focusing our energies on right now. We’ve got to create more jobs, and kids to educate, and an immigration system to fix. We’ve got more troops to bring home, and a middle class to rebuild, and opportunity to restore. There’s so much America has going for it in this new century. And as always, this country works better when we work together.”