The debt ceiling’s threat to America

Dylan, German, and Dara discuss the debt ceiling: the current crisis, what the debt ceiling even is, and how the debt ceiling has become a politically polarized issue. They also talk about why the debt ceiling is bad for democracy. Plus, a white paper about Canadian bread cartels. Resources:

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s estimate of when we’ll hit the debt ceiling

Congressional Research Service’s history of the debt ceiling

Janet Yellen on the costs of breaching the debt ceiling

Neil Buchanan and Michael Dorf on why breaching the debt ceiling is the “least illegal” option

The trillion dollar coin (and the Obama rejection of it) explained

Steven Schwarcz on using special investment tools to evade the debt ceiling

Matt Yglesias on the “Honduras scenario” for American democracy failing

"Hub and Spoke Cartels: Theory and Evidence from the Grocery Industry" by Robert Clark, Ignatius Horstmann, Jean-François Houde

Netflix documentary on the Canadian maple syrup cartel

Hosts: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), Senior Correspondent, Vox German Lopez (@germanrlopez), Senior Correspondent, Vox Dara Lind (@DLind), Immigration Reporter, ProPublica

Credits: Sofi LaLonde, Producer & Engineer Libby Nelson, Editor Amber Hall, Deputy Editorial Director of Talk Podcasts

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