The Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have both released information suggesting that the United States is rapidly approaching the “X-date” – the date at which the government can no longer pay its bills. This would be a breach of the United States debt ceiling. In order to avoid this, the ceiling needs to be raised. But what exactly is a debt ceiling, and what are the potential economic consequences of failing to raise it? KVMR’s Nelle Engoron seeks to answer these questions in the first installment of KVMR Chautauqua (/ʃəˈtɔːkwə/ shə-TAW-kwə).