MSU IPPSR State of the State podcast focuses on “historical oddity” of U.S. debt ceiling

<p>This month’s State of the State podcast conversation from Michigan State University's <a href="https://ippsr.msu.edu">Institute for Public Policy and Social Research</a> focuses on the debt limit. <a href="https://twitter.com/MattGrossmann">Matt Grossmann</a>, Charley Ballard, and Arnold Weinfeld welcome associate professor of economics Antonio Doblas Madrid to the discussion. </p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Conversation Highlights</em></strong>:</p><p> </p><p>(1:46) – “The Federal Reserve has been trying for more than a year to slow things down. They’ve had some success. Inflation is not where it was several months ago, but it’s still above their target. There are a lot of indications that the economy is growing more slowly than it was a year ago, but it’s still growing.”</p><p> </p><p>(3:36) – “We’re still at a pretty high level of resources. Compared to the last few years, there is a lot of money and a lot of people asking for that money. The good news about being in the majority during this kind of time is that you can say yes to a lot more people, and that’s usually good for you politically. The bad news is if you say yes with temporary money on a permanent basis, then a few years down the line you have to say no a whole lot more and it can be pretty bad.”</p><p> </p><p>(4:45) – “Surpluses tend to disappear.”</p><p> </p><p>(6:45) – “The United States is one of a group of privileged countries that has always had healthy enough finances that it has never defaulted on its debt. And the U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency. It’s shocking that this debt ceiling situation that keeps coming up over and over threatens to engineer a self-inflicted financial crisis.”</p><p> </p><p>(7:45) – “The debt ceiling is a historical oddity of the United States.”</p><p> </p><p>(9:30) – “The U.S. dollar and U.S. government debt are considered the safest financial assets. It would be similar to the ground shaking.”</p><p> </p><p>(11:26) – “The U.S. Treasury is a whole lot bigger than Lehman Brothers.”</p><p> </p><p>(