the US want to inflate their debt away, and raising the debt ceiling is the only way to save the USD.
the only other option is that they dont, cause a little intermediate pain and structure a gold backed amero - which would mean a fresh start for the US as a treasury, but deflation pain for anyone holding debt in USD. this would be a disaster for the likes of China, maybe that's the point though.
dunno. after what i've seen and researched with the GFC, anything is possible.
Indeed, anything is possible. We "humans" may not be as in control of all this as we like to perceive. Check this out, if it doesn't blow your hair back, I don't reckon you thought hard enough about the implications; http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_slavin_how_algorithms_shape_our_world.html