US parties dig heels in on debt crisis

Congressional leaders showed no signs of giving ground to resolve the next step in America’s financial crisis, with Democrats still talking about higher taxes on the wealthy and the Senate’s top Republican suggesting a crippling default on US loans was possible unless there were significant cuts in government spending.

“It’s a shame we have to use whatever leverage we have in Congress to get the president to deal with the biggest problem confronting our future, and that’s our excessive spending,” said Senate minority Leader Mitch McConnell.