Episode 82: What Happens if the U.S. Defaults on Its Debt?

The US is very likely to default on its debt at some in the future, but we’re just not sure exactly when. What we do know is that the sooner it happens to smaller the impact will be, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the case. The reality of our financial situation as of May of 2020 is the US is on course for a $3.7 trillion deficit this year. According to Jerome Powell, we are going to need another stimulus package and could be looking at a deficit of over $5 trillion, a number which normally takes five years to reach. All of the predictions made in the past have all been accelerated because of the increased deficit spending this year. For governments, it’s more attractive to raise taxes than it is to default on their debt because of the devastating consequences of doing so. Essentially, if Congress declines to raise the debt ceiling the US Treasury Department can no longer issue bonds and the federal government wouldn’t be able to fund all its obligations. We have to unders...