US debt ceiling impasse - what happens if Washington defaults on its bills?

The long-running deadlock over raising the debt ceiling in the United States looks set to go down to the wire as financial markets grow increasingly nervous about what could be a catastrophic debt default.

The US government remains on track to run out of cash as early as next week taking the impasse from a political fight in Washington to freezing the transmission of money for everyday services Americans take for granted.

I speak on ABC Newsradio with Tom Oriti