Debt often feels like an abstract concept that tends to dominate news headlines at least once a year, and especially so during financial crises. But beneath the strange jargon and politics lies a profoundly human story about trust, responsibility, and the collective choices of a nation.
In the United States, debt is more than the value of numbers: it is an in-depth look into how the country funds wars, responds to pandemics, pays retirees, and keeps promises made to future generations. And one aspect of this is the nation’s debt ceiling.
But what exactly is it? And why does the US government keep raising the bar? Click through this gallery to find out.