This really looks like a case of the administration having a scheme to spook the markets and send them to the safety of bonds, which would then have plummeting yields, shaving tons off the federal budget that could then be funneled into tax breaks for the usual beneficiaries.

However, as they say, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand. They spooked the bond markets about whether the US is even going to be a going concern in the future.

Only question now is whether those in power will give it up willingly when the electorate inevitably shows them the door.