Extraordinary measures for extraordinary times

Since the U.S. brushed up against its debt limit in January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been stretching the government’s money as far as possible using “extraordinary measures” to buy time for Congress. One listener thought to ask: How, exactly, does that work? And how long could they last? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about where the funds for military assistance to Ukraine come from and why the Federal Reserve’s strategy to bring down inflation may come with unwanted side effects. Plus, a little self-care talk.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “How ‘Extraordinary Measures’ Can Postpone a Debt Limit Disaster” from The New York Times

• • “Meet the budget bureaucrat in charge of tracking the U.S. debt” from The Washington Post

• • “The U.S. hit its debt ceiling. Now it’s time for ‘extraordinary measures.'” from Marketplace

• • “How Much Aid Has the U.S. Sent Ukraine? Here Are Six Charts.” from the Council on Foreign Relations

• • “How much money has the US given Ukraine since Russia’s invasion?” from USA Facts

• • “‘We’re right at the beginning of the hard part’ of taming inflation, Atlanta Fed CEO says” from Marketplace

• • “Once a fringe theory, ‘greedflation’ gets its due” from Axios

• • “What the Fed’s interest rate hike could mean for you” from Vox

Got a question about the economy, business or technology for the hosts? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.