To pass a law in the United States, you need to jump through a lot of hurdles.

A bill has to first clear a committee in the House or Senate. (In the case of Republicans’ tax legislation this year, its components had to clear 11 different committees.) The House Rules Committee has to agree for it to come to the floor for a vote. It has to pass that vote. In the Senate, it has to get 60 votes to beat a potential filibuster, or else obey a set of byzantine rules allowing it to pass with a simple majority.

But another entity gets a vote, an entity not mentioned in the Constitution or in congressional rules or even physically located in Washington, DC. That entity is the bond market, and right now, it is very pissed.

Currently, the US makes up for any budget deficits it incurs by issuing bon

See Full Page