Understanding the "debt ceiling"

For those of us who watch the news (or just unfortunately major in political science), it's impossible to ignore the umpteenth annual debt ceiling freak-out. Why is our government freaking out about the debt ceiling for the zillionth year in a row? What IS the debt ceiling, actually? Why is the government putting us through this? Why does any of this matter?

All of these questions and more can be answered by this handy video I found, courtesy of YouTuber "Grey" in the series "Grey Explains Things."

Some "DID YOU KNOW?" for your day

Happy January 16th! It wasn't always a happy day though. On this day in history:

"The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified on this day in 1919 and becomes the law of the land." - History Channel

What does that mean? It means that today marks the 94th anniversary of the American prohibition, one of the biggest legal failures in American history. Even at the time of its passing, it was a hotly debated issue.

Prohibition protesters. They just want beer. Come on, give the poor protesters some beer.