• Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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    6 days ago

    There needs to be a budget passed by Congress to allocate money to be spent. It hasn’t been done in some time as Congress can only agree on continuous resolutions. The majority of the budget can’t be changed, things like interest on debt, mandatory programs, etc. That’s why Musk’s BS is simply that.

    Next is allocation, or spending. Congress has a pool of money for a division of the government through the budget and now allocates for a particular program or need. It then allocated this money and Treasury is given the responsibility to pay for it. When revenues don’t match expenditure we borrow money from ourselves to take care of the shortfall.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      There needs to be a budget passed by Congress to allocate money to be spent. It hasn’t been done in some time as Congress can only agree on continuous resolutions.

      CRs simply adopt the budget of the prior Congress, adjusted by some inflation value designated in the CR. They are budgets in every way that matters.

      The majority of the budget can’t be changed, things like interest on debt, mandatory programs, etc.

      The majority of Congress can’t agree on changes, so they adopt the last consensus in order to continue the operations of the federal bureaucracy. The budget can be changed with a majority vote in two chambers. These chambers refuse to find a consensus on what those changes should be.

      Congress has a pool of money for a division of the government through the budget and now allocates for a particular program or need.

      Congress has no limit on the amount of dollars it can spend, as the US Government originates its own currency. The only real limit on Congressional spending is the strength of the US dollar on the secondary exchange markets. And right now, the US Dollar is - if anything - too strong for its own good, encouraging an excess of cheap imports at the expense of domestic capital development.

      When revenues don’t match expenditure we borrow money from ourselves

      We don’t “borrow money from ourselves”. We issue debt that pays an interest rate over time to investors and they lend back cash that they aren’t using. This recirculates the existing stock of cash without inflating the general supply of notes in circulation.

      The Debt Ceiling limits how much new debt we can issue, which means driving down the interest rates on existing treasury notes and allowing existing cash stockpiles to languish.

      • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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        6 days ago

        If you knew all that, why would you question the need for a budget. Feel like I’m spinning wheels.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          The Budget is the CR. I’m not questioning the need for it. I’m questioning the arbitrary limit on the payment scheme for money you’ve already allocated as needing to be spent.