Columbia, SC (WLTX) - There are just seven days left until the deadline for the U.S. government to raise its debt limit ceiling. Failure to do so would likely lead to higher interest rates and a further economic slowdown. That's according to certified financial planner Laura Scharr- Bykowsky who used the game "Carolinaopoly" to illustrate the problem.
Scharr- Bykowsky says students looking for college loans, consumers looking for a mortgage or car loan, and municipalities selling bonds to finance a project, would all pay more for the privilege. That would happen, she says, since a decline in the government's credit rating would lead to higher lending rates.
"This is what my biggest concern would be. We would all feel the pain here at home," she told WLTX's Meredith Allan Monday.
Scharr-Bykowsky agrees that spending cuts are necessary as part of any plan, and she is confident some kind of an agreement will be reached in time to allow the government to continue making its debt obligations.
She says Congress has raised the debt limit about 10 times since 2001.