Let's suppose the GOP doesn't raise the debt ceiling on time.

And let's suppose the administration doesn't try any novel ideas, like invoking the 14th Amendment or using the Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin to get around the debt ceiling.

The best hope, then, is that the Treasury "prioritizes" its payments, so that it honors some things like interest payments, while delaying payments on other stuff that's not so crucial.

So what might that look like?

A presentation from the Bipartisan Policy Center did a good job of looking at what we'd have to give up if we prioritized crucial things like interest payments, Social Security and defense.

There are four slides here. Two sets of two. In each one, the first shows what we could keep spending on, and the second show what we would have to cut.

For the full presentation on what happens if we don't hike the debt ceiling, see here >