This is Planet Money from NPR.
Every year, the U.S. government spends more money than it takes in.
And in order to fund all that spending, the country borrows a lot of money.
It takes on debt.
Congress has the power to limit how much debt the U.S. takes on.
Right now, that debt limit, which is also known as the debt ceiling, $36.1 trillion.
But as the spending keeps going and the debt ticks up, we get closer and closer to that limit.
A little over a week ago, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said if something isn't done,
we will hit the debt ceiling this summer.
I will tell you, just as an outfielder running for a fly ball, we are on the warning track.
And when you're on the warning track, it means the wall is not far away.
The exact date when the U.S. won't be able to pay all of its bills is so terrifying that it has a special name,
the X date.
A lot of effort and sometimes some shenanigans go into determining this deadline for Congress to,
you know.
do something, to act, to raise the debt limit, to suspend the debt limit,
to eliminate the debt limit entirely, or I don't know, maybe try something creative.
But the date when we hit the debt limit wasn't always called the X date.
Back in 2023, we met the people who basically created the X date world we live in.
Today's show is about how we got here.