How About If We Just Stop Paying Congress?

With Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., openly floating the idea that if we exhaust all options for avoiding the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, the government could just stop paying federal employees and members of Congress for awhile, Reuters blogger Felix Salmon asks a question: When it comes to Congress, why wait?

But here's what I don't understand: we've already reached the debt ceiling. At this point, [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner can point at just about anything and say that it's an expenditure we can't afford right now, and we'll have to put it off until the debt ceiling is raised. Why doesn't he just do that with all Congressional salaries? If the House Republicans had to live without pay between now and when the debt ceiling is raised, that would surely concentrate their minds a bit.

(Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)