Hey, Alexi Horowitz-Gazi here to ask you to pre-order the Planet Money book today.
It's filled with great stories, just like you hear on the podcast,
gorgeous illustrations, and a few surprises we will share soon.
We put a lot of energy into thinking up ways to make a book,
explaining the economy as creative as possible, and we are so proud of it.
It's perfect for anyone wanting a primer on money and decision-making,
or to just enjoy a good, nerdy read.
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You can go to planetmoneybook.com.
That's planetmoneybook.com.
And thank you.
There is a basic mismatch between how much our government takes in, in revenue,
mostly in taxes, and what it spends on defense and Medicare and roads and that sort of thing.
And the reason we can sustain that structural mismatch is because we can borrow the difference.
We go get the money we need in the big international bond market.
where people and institutions with money lend it out to people and institutions who want money in exchange for periodic interest payments.
The US government's promise to pay back what it borrows, plus interest, that is a treasury.
It's an IOU and all over the world there are people and institutions who want to loan the US government money,
in part because it is perceived to be such a safe bet.