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Snap shot of the 2011 U.S. debt crisis

• The U.S. government has been spending more money than it had for years.  Debt-ceilings have been debated, hit, passed and raised as well.  While the problem is not new, different political players facing a different political and economic climate have made today's concerns seem new and unchartered.
• Beginning in 2007 and continuing throughout the financial crisis, U.S. government spending ballooned - think stimulus spending, benefits payments, tax rebate cheques, etc.  As a result, the U.S. debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio sharply increased to nearly 70 per cent projected for 2011, from around 36 per cent in 2007, drawing increased attention to it from politicians, economists and media alike.
• Government officials are in a deadlock about how to fix the deficit problem, and are resisisting raising the debt ceiling (short-term fix) in advance of a firm plan to address the deficit (long-term fix).
• Major debt rating agencies such as Moody's and S&P have signaled that the world's gold-standard and AAA rating status of U.S. government debt would be at risk of a downgrade.