As the deadline for the US debt ceiling looms, the Republican-imposed crisis is becoming scarier, with speculation on when the US government could default. NBC News recently reported that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that the deadline to extend the debt ceiling or face the first US default could be as early as June 1, adjusting the timeline as the path to avert a self-inflicted crisis remains murky on Capitol Hill. Yellen pointed to "inherently variable" federal receipts and outlays, adding that the actual deadline could slide to "a number of weeks later."

The US Treasury has limited financial tools available to mitigate the impact of the debt ceiling. The treasury secretary can use the measures to pay government bills, delay payments to certain funds, or suspend the sale of Treasury securities to the public, but none of these measures can prevent the inevitable. If Congress doesn't act, there will be a catastrophic chain reaction, causing millions of jobs lost, consumer confidence destroyed and the US's economic standing severely damaged.

There's concern that Republicans are willing to play games with the full faith and credit of the United States. The nation has never defaulted before, but the possibility is something Washington can ill-afford to gamble with. Whether this crisis will lead to a catastrophic financial event in the US is still speculation, but the fact remains that the stakes are high, and the US must not head toward the dangerous brink of default.