The debt ceiling is still being discussed among lawmakers and President Biden in Washington.

Both sides say they are still far from a deal, but that progress is being made. The rough deadline for a deal to be done is June 1st and if a deal is not reached by then, Ball State economist Mike Hicks says there could be a recession.

“It’s just a limit on what our debt can be,” said Hicks on WISH-TV. “If you have a credit card, you have a debt limit of $5,000, and once that happens, you can’t charge anymore.”

He recalls going through a debt limit stalemate while he was in the Army in his younger years. Hicks said back then his superiors had to bump payment for soldiers until the following week, meaning some of the soldiers missed getting paid for a little while.

Hicks said the same thing may happen to 67 million Americans who receive social security. Experts also say that retirees living on 401Ks and other investments may also get hit as well.

Nonprofits that receive government grants could also lose funding if the government defaults, which could lead to staff furloughs.