WASHINGTON -- While the concept of the debt ceiling might seem "in the weeds," it actually poses a very real threat to millions of Americans in a precarious economic period. If lawmakers on Capitol ...

If the United States defaults on its financial obligations, millions of Americans might not be able to pay their bills as well. With Social Security and other government benefits at risk amid a ...

As of January 2026, the Treasury Offset Program is again garnishing Social Security benefits for defaulted student loans. Learn how to protect your income.

Student loan debt has surged to a record $1.65 trillion, now comprising 30% of non-mortgage consumer debt. Serious delinquencies (90+ days) spiked to 14.3% in Q3 '25, driven by the end of pandemic-era ...

With the U.S. approaching the Oct. 17 to raise the debt limit or default on its debt, here are seven of the most immediate and severe side-effects if lawmakers fail to raise the debt ceiling. A ...

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that Congress should get rid of the debt ceiling, a day after he and Elon Musk came out against a deal reached by congressional lawmakers to fund the ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Spreads on U.S. government credit default swaps, market-based gauges of the risk of a sovereign default, have ticked higher amid market concerns over the U.S. government shutdown.

If current fiscal trends continue, the United States could face a reckoning far sooner than many policymakers admit. Some economists warn that within five years, when the federal debt may approach $50 ...

In a recent lecture titled “The Fiscal Future,” Professor N. Gregory Mankiw of Harvard University laid out the following future scenarios as our federal debt explodes. The national government can ...

For the first time in years, borrowers who have stopped paying their student loans may have their wages garnished to repay their debts. The return of wage garnishment for student borrowers comes as ...