The federal government reaches its borrowing limit today, leaving Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to resort to “extraordinary measures” to avoid default. He can hold off until the end of February, he says. Republicans are still trying to figure out what item to demand in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, which doesn’t exactly put them in a strong bargaining position. We expect them to just concede to a “clean” hike in order to make a better election issue out of it. Meanwhile, federal spending goes in the same direction it always does: up.