What happens if the U.S. defaults on its debt?

As Kai Ryssdal puts it, the United States is like House Lannister from “Game of Thrones”: It always pays its debt. But if Congress isn’t able to increase the debt limit, the government won’t have enough money to pay all its bills later this year. A listener called in to ask how that would affect regular Americans. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the economic consequences of exclusionary zoning, how tariffs work and how households of different income levels are affected by rising inflation. Plus, is Kai an electric vehicle convert?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Sends Letter to Congressional Leadership on the Debt Limit” from the U.S. Department of the Treasury

• • “Debt Limit Brinkmanship (Again)” from Moody’s Analytics

• • “America’s racist housing rules really can be fixed” from Vox

• • “Understanding Exclusionary Zoning and Its Impact on Concentrated Poverty” from The Century Foundation

• • “What Is A Tariff And Who Pays It?” from The Tax Policy Center

• • “Congress Should Take Back Its Authority Over Tariffs” from Foreign Policy

• • “The Truth About Tariffs” from the Council on Foreign Relations

• • “For Black and Latino families, inflation can hit even harder” from Marketplace

• • “Inflation Disparities by Race and Income Narrow” from Liberty Street Economics

• • “EV Consumer Survey Report” from Plug In America

If you’ve got a question about business, tech and the economy, give us a shout. We’re at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.