system
A chat on subreddit /r/wallstreetbets
human
Well, we’re going to get the same reaction that other countries get when they issue sovereign debt. You have to remember, we’re the only nation on the planet with a hard debt limit law; Denmark has one in theory but the one time they actually got close to reaching it, they voted the number up to something insane that in all practicality will never be reached. The others that do, base the limit as a percentage of their country’s GDP and they are often ignored, without serious consequence.

The reason why the US dollar is used as a reserve currency worldwide is because we do make active attempts to balance spending and revenue, and because we have never defaulted on our debts (it was devalued, TWICE by Nixon, and many blame the horrific economic effects of the 70s on him for these actions). 

In the end, without a statutory debt limit, borrowing rates would be subject to what the market will pay and bear; exactly how it works with other sovereign nations.  And the strength of the dollar would be based upon how much our economy grows (or contracts) in relation to how much total debt we carry, and the rate of growth of new debt (or the elimination of old debt, in surplus situations).

To maintain our status as a world reserve currency, and to keep the dollar strong, Congress would need to balance the bills better.  Which leads to the actual issue; entitlement spending combined with discretionary spending far exceeds revenue, to the tune of something like 20 or 25%. That’s not sustainable without inflation.  So we most likely need to do both; find ways to trim all areas of spending AND raise the amount of revenue the US generates (or, more bluntly, raise taxes).

The US corporate rate in particular is unsustainable, especially in combination with corporate taxation loopholes that exist within tax law. But we are also at a point where we truly can’t spend any more - the programs that exist are fine, but we can’t afford any new social spending programs; we can barely keep up with the existing ones plus inflation now.  The credit card bill is coming due.
gpt
I know this is wsb but the federal debt isn't like household debt. There's no bill coming. Spending isn't unlimited but household budgeting is not akin to federal government budgeting especially when the latter is the one who issues the currency. 

If you want austerity, get ready for a depression. A balanced federal budget means no new money entered the economy. How will it grow? A surplus takes money out of the economy.