ceiling. a familiar topic, but the circumstances this time are quite different. on friday, janet yellin announced that the united states will hit its debt limit this coming thursday. the debt limit is the maximum amount, according to law, that the federal government can borrow to pay for its obligations, to pay for things start to spend money on. that includes, all of the really important functions of government, everything from air traffic control to medicare and social security payments, congress decides what that limit is. so, secretary yellen wrote to house speaker kevin mccarthy, warning him that it is, quote, critical that congress act in a timely manner, to increase or suspend the debt limit, and quote. she wanted to explain that, quote, filler to meet the governments obligations would cause irreparable harm to the u.s. economy, the livelihoods of all americans, and global financial stability. all of that is true. to be clear, the united states government to fight fal
so did. mom s our and blurry couples early years in boston. i would imagine it was a sweetness to that time. it wasn t very long after they were married, and after they left boston and settled in montgomery. and then for their, until the end of his life in 1968, it was a very public life. that bomb, now the mortal arms entwined, holding each other up, clinging to the dream. thank you to craig often, for sharing that very important story with us. this important night of remembrance and renewal. and on that important note. i wish you, a very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late, i ll see you at the end of tomorrow. tomorrow the full faith and credit of these comments on the line. i think that s a real threat that both sides have to take seriously. tonight s, while we may be just days away from the first genuine crisis caused by the republican-controlled house. then, i don t know about size may not, bu
we touch people in ways they can t even imagine. this isn t like setting power to that house on fire, and thinking oh, we ll lose the guest bedroom and a half bath, but the rest of the structure will be standing. the whole thing is vulnerable, if we were to push a limit, and threaten default, there is no saving the structure. it is really like burning everything down. so there is reporting for the washington post, that they have a plan, it s called prioritization. if we reach a debt limit, which the treasury secretary yellen says she can move things around until about june and then we have a real problem. they will pay some things, but they won t be, others the play bond holder interest, but maybe not air traffic controllers, it s not really the way the world works. either there s the full faith and credit the u.s. government or there isn t, in the same way that if you pay your mortgage but you don t pay your card payment, the banks all know that your bad risk, and your interest rate
this is happened before, we never don t increase the debt limit, it s all gonna be fine. and my warning is, it probably is and i hope, is but if it isn t this time is different, this is remarkably serious because of what congressman killed you said, you can t be raising interest rates and lowering them at the same times, if you have a recession and inflation. well, you are right, i completely agree with, you i m more nervous time than i have been in previous years. and i ve been through, this as you, have many times before. i do worry that this congress, might be different this time at the different, and you ve covered this ground already very well tonight, it would be unimaginable. a cataclysmic event, that would ripple very quickly through the global financial system, that we touch people in ways they can t even imagine. this isn t like setting power to that house on fire, and thinking oh, we ll lose the guest bedroom and a half bath, but the rest of the structure will be standing.