The U.S. economy's biggest superpower, explained

Planet Money

NPR

Business, News

4.6 • 29.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2023

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if you could borrow money on the cheap and use it to pay for just about anything? The U.S. government can, and does, with U.S. Treasuries. But the market for Treasuries might be more fragile than we know.

In this episode, Yesha Yadav of Vanderbilt Law School explains why.

This episode was first published as a bonus episode for our Planet Money+ listeners. Today we're making it available for everyone. To hear more episodes like this, and to hear Planet Money and The Indicator without sponsor messages, support the show by signing up for Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Planet Money from NPR.
0:05.0	Hey, it's Mary Childs.
0:07.0	It is the season of giving, as you may know.
0:10.0	And in that spirit, here at Planet Money, we thought we could give you something you'd actually maybe really like.
0:17.0	No, not cash, that is a good idea though.
0:19.0	We have picked our very favorite episodes that are normally just for Planet Money Plus
0:24.3	supporters and we're making those favorite episodes available for everyone this
0:28.7	month. If you are a Planet Money Plus listener you got a chance to hear today's episode a while back and we are so so grateful for your support
0:37.0	Steady dependable contributions really matter in a world of public media
0:41.4	Especially now and if you are not a supporter and you're interested in in a world of public media, especially now.
0:42.8	And if you are not a supporter
0:44.2	and you're interested in hearing more episodes like this one,
0:47.0	you can sign up at plus.npr.org
0:50.0	and you will also hear all of our regular episodes
0:52.2	without sponsor messages.
0:54.1	Okay, so do you remember the big messy fights this year over the US debt limit?
0:59.1	The US has hit its debt ceiling.
1:01.2	Congress and the White House are in a standoff.
1:03.8	The impasse could end in a federal default
1:06.3	and economic disaster.
1:07.9	Here is what Yeshia Yadev, a professor
1:09.8	at Vanderbilt University's law school,
	...

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