So where did it this debt limit come from? It came from Congress. It was imposed a century ago, in 1917, at the beginning of World War I. It was meant to placate those members o… See more

So the federal debt — the accumulation of all the annual deficits of the federal government — reached $1 trillion around 1980 and became a very big campaign issue for R… See more

Clearly, the limit exists to be raised. But how often can Congress raise it? The answer is: Congress is empowered to raise or otherwise modify the limit whenever it's reached. O… See more

If the federal government does hit that limit, the Treasury moves money around for a few weeks to cover the shortfall in cash flow. They're what Treasury officials call "extraordin… See more