Shutdown could harm US global stature: White House

As the US government shutdown enters its second week, the White House today warned that the looming prospect of an unprecedented debt default by the world’s largest economy was a ‘terrible’ scenario that would harm America’s democracy and global stature. Top US officials said the political deadlock on the federal budget over President Barack Obama’s contentious healthcare programme, popularly known as ‘Obamacare’, could have potentially catastrophic consequences for the world economy. Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, warned that Obama could not allow the House of Representatives to hold him hostage over raising the debt limit because it would set a dire precedent for future presidents. ‘The president has made clear the era of threatening default has to be over. If we sanction that as a regular process, that will do great harm to our democracy,’ said Sperling.