Typically, I'm not one to praise Ronald Reagan, but for those that are, here's his view of not raising the debt ceiling and that consequences of the US defaulting on its debt:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/201...onal-Politics/Graphics/reagan_letter_0514.pdf
“The full consequences of a default – or even the serious prospect of default – by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and the value of the dollar. The Nation can ill afford to allow such a result. The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to this conclusions: the Senate must this legislation before the Congress adjourns.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/201...onal-Politics/Graphics/reagan_letter_0514.pdf