Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why Government Guarantees Create Hidden Debt
Episode 25 of The Fiscal Policy Podcast digs into the quiet machinery of government loan guarantees — the kind that back mortgages, student debt, and small business lending. Lucas and Luna trace the $2.3 trillion in contingent liabilities sitting off the US federal balance sheet, using the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank as a case study. They explain how the FDIC's deposit insurance fund works, why the Congressional Budget Office scores guarantees differently than direct spending, and what happens when a guarantee gets called. You'll learn why fiscal hawks call this 'the…
The skinny
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