Debt ceiling debate: Preaching to the choir

CNN:

The White House continues to issue dire warnings about the economic consequences should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling this month. President Barack Obama told Wall Street to be “concerned” and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Congress is “playing with fire.”

But despite all the drastic pronouncements, some Republicans in Congress aren’t buying it. For one thing, they doubt that October 17 is the date when the Treasury will be unable to meet its obligations.

Rep. Lee Terry, R-Nebraska, is one of those lawmakers.

…

Which side is right? Before default is reached, it’s hard to know.

But a recent study published in Psychological Science found that people on the far end of the political spectrum believe that their positions are “correct.”

“Given the stalemate in Washington, understanding why people become so entrenched in their views — even when there is not an objectively correct answer — is more important than ever,” Kaitlin Toner, a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University, said, describing why she conducted the study.

Read the whole story: CNN