Debt default 'X-date' calculations aim to figure out when the US may run short of cash
For all the concern over when the government might run out of money to cover all its bills, it turns out that no one can be absolutely sure exactly when the country faces a potential default — the dreaded “X-date.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — For all the concern over just when the government might run short of money to pay its bills, it turns out that no one, not even the U.S. treasury secretary, can be absolutely sure exactly when the country faces a potential default — what officials are calling the “X-date.”
Calculating when the country is going to run out of money requires monitoring major fluctuations in cash flowing into and out of the Treasury and factoring in the timing and size of big payments coming due, among other factors.
Now, with only a few days left for the White House and congressional leaders to negotiate a deal that would allow the government to borrow more money before the U.S. hits the statutory debt ceiling, knowing the drop-dead date is crucial.
And amid all the squabbling over the debt, the X-date itself has inevitably become a subject of political rancor.
