I live in Canada and I don't have to tell you our closest neighbor is. For the most part the United states is a very good neighbor. The people are great neighbors but they don't know very much about us.. Some of the politicians and are scary and some of the government policies don't make sense to me.
Well, where am I going with this. A few weeks ago there was a situation where some regulation had to be passed or the American government would run out of money and the government would have to shut down. What is going on here? Why is there such a law? Can somebody please explain how this law works.
What happens if some government doesn't have money to spend for a long time and it's bills are not paid? How long will it be before businesses owed money by the government become bankrupt. And when you get a few bankruptcies it might snowball. So the economy of the country collapses.
Why am I concerned? That goes back to the closest neighbor thing in the first paragraph. We have a saying here that we are like a mouse sleeping next to an elephant. As a result of American financial turmoil we will also suffer the same fate as our economies are closely related.
So why is there a regulation that could cause the collapse of an economy?
Congress made the rule near WWII I think, it's rather dumb I think.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to make things complicated.
DeleteThe Congress must approve all government spending, therefore they must agree on spending bills and budgets. No budget, no spending, no government operations. Congress must also approve of the debt ceiling. The US operates in the red, on borrowed money. If spending is about to go over the approved level of debt, Congress must either cut off spending or raise the level of debt allowed.
ReplyDeleteUS government debt is considered to be secure, but we are reaching extreme levels in comparison to our Gross National Product, or net worth.
You've given me a good explanation. It sounds like a lot of games!
DeleteI'm afraid that America is a very odd place sometimes
ReplyDeleteSome of the procedures are different.
DeleteThe problem, Red, is that when America sneezes we all catch a cold.
ReplyDeleteVery true.
Deletelaws are here to exploit the common man and to protect the businessman who controls the politicians like puppets
ReplyDeleteYes,but I think we are at fault for electing the wrong people.
DeleteIt was the budget, wasn't it? It's not a law, but the government getting permission from law makers to spend a certain amount of money. It's nearly 1 TRILLION in debt, too. They are borrowing money to give the 1% a tax cut. seriously
ReplyDeleteThat trillion number scares me.
DeleteI don't understand the workings of government, but I sure do know that some people clean up with each regulation and others suffer. Our country is in deep trouble. :-(
ReplyDeleteThings are out of whack and one wonders how long it can go that way.
DeleteThe American system is the best argument in favour of Westminster style Parliamentary democracy.
ReplyDeleteHey, Hey! However we do have a very badly skewed tax system.
DeleteObama ran the government for 8 years without any budget. It means you can create a lot of places to spend money and never really have any money to back it. They spend it all over the world without knowing if there is anything behind it. Margaret Thatcher was right. Socialism works great until the government runs out of other peoples money. It is like sending kids to the candy store and telling them we will pick up the bill later. Our illegals go onto free healthcare and social security right away, which I had to work for the in past 50 plus years while paying for my own heath care. We foot a lot of bills for our previous president that had no vote of the American people to do.
ReplyDeleteWe have some socialist policies and they work very well. Things must be paid for. That's rule number one.
DeleteThe system is broken and defies explanation except that the one percent owns most of the wealth, controls government, helps the very rich get richer yet as the middle slowly sinks away as outrageous income disparity keep growing to unheard of levels. Ignorance and fear fuel each other as problems grow. I expect our young people and perhaps social media will lead to a new political party with some form of Democratic Socialism. I can wait...:)
DeleteI don't understand enough about the way our government works here but I do know that too many politicians here are more concerned with their pockets than what is best for the general population. And I hate the way Trump seems to enjoy using the statement about shutting down the government as a threat. Like DJan said, I believe our country is in deep trouble.
ReplyDeleteYes, too much of the tax money gets lost.
DeleteThis confuses me, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's also frightening because it sounds like it could cause a great problem
DeleteAll the politicians want their say without representing the people. IF they would do their job there would be no problem. We need term limits on Senators and Represenatives.
ReplyDeleteThey have to appropriate the fund to keep the government going...the money is there it just has to be released:) Politics suck:(
There's another country that is just as close to Canada as The USA. It's Greenland! But it should have been called Whiteland. I have flown over it and I saw no green - just endless whiteness.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Red. I wish I knew. There’s so much about our government that I don’t understand and don’t approve. Sigh... Gun control for one thing after the recent horror.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you think you might understand how it's done but then something totally different happens. They don't know the answer either. It's crazy!
ReplyDeleteHello, We are all wondering the same thing! Troutbirder above has a great reply. Our politicians have no problem spending money, mostly on the wrong things. I wanted to thank you for visiting and for your comment on my blog. Have a happy day and weekend.
ReplyDeleteI don't know enough about the system to comment, but it does seem strange that they can allow the government with its many employees exist in limbo while they essentially fight like children who haven't learned to cooperate yet. Whoa. I guess I commented anyway . . .
ReplyDeleteHi Red, Linda Reeder and Troutbirder have nailed it. The latest wrinkle in the system is the way politicians are using the budget to twist arms and get their way with their own preferred legislation. For example, in these most recent budget battles, the Republicans have control of the House, the Senate, the Presidency, and, ultimately, even the Supreme Court. Despite that, the government shuts down and the Republicans try to blame the Democrats. Hopefully, more Americans will wake up to how the government works. I hope Troutbirder's predictions are right!
ReplyDelete