What happens if the U.S. defaults on its debt?
Jan 25, 2023
Episode 847

What happens if the U.S. defaults on its debt?

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Long story short, it would be very bad.

As Kai Ryssdal puts it, the United States is like House Lannister from “Game of Thrones”: It always pays its debt. But if Congress isn’t able to increase the debt limit, the government won’t have enough money to pay all its bills later this year. A listener called in to ask how that would affect regular Americans. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the economic consequences of exclusionary zoning, how tariffs work and how households of different income levels are affected by rising inflation. Plus, is Kai an electric vehicle convert?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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The team

Marissa Cabrera Senior Producer
Marque Greene Associate Producer