U.S Default Countdown; Is this the end of the road for the Empire? By Mike Whitney

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28060.htm

Sometime in mid-May, the United States will hit the debt ceiling ($14.3 trillion) which is the legal limit that the country can borrow without congressional approval. If the ceiling isn't raised, the US will default on its debt and the government will begin to shut down.