The debt ceiling framework is fundamentally flawed. That's the reality many economists are waking up to—statutory mechanisms designed to rein in federal government spending simply haven't worked over time. The numbers tell the story: continuous increases in the debt ceiling, paired with unchecked growth in government expenditures, have created a mounting debt burden that statutory constraints were supposed to prevent. Yet here we are. These legislative guardrails haven't held up under real-world pressure, and the systemic implications ripple across financial markets, including crypto valuations tied to macroeconomic conditions. The bigger question: what actually works when traditional fiscal brakes fail?