# What's the point of the (US budget) debt ceiling?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-the-us-budget-debt-ceiling/951655>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [September 30, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-the-us-budget-debt-ceiling/951655 "2021-09-30T13:08:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 24

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**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-the-us-budget-debt-ceiling/951655/24 "2021-09-30T14:52:34Z")

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> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> This is the most worthless thing in US politics. First of all, it might be unconstitutional and if tested it might violate the 14th Amendment re: the validity of the debt. But more to reality, has it ever stopped any spending? Has any Congressperson ever gotten up in debate and said, “We shouldn’t spend this money or we will be out of money by October?” Doesn’t anyone keep track of how much money is being spent earlier in the year or make any effort to stay under the debt ceiling so that in let’s say July Congress can’t spend anymore in discretionary spending unless the ceiling is raised right then and there ? Do we honestly think that there will ever be a year where after both sides play their political games and maybe a week or two shutdown there won’t be an increase of the debt ceiling?

I posted about it in this thread, reposting because I think it fairly comprehensively answers your question:

> [@Will the US default on its debt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-us-default-on-its-debt/951203/9):
>
> It is a result of the constitutionally defined separation of powers–and no, the debt ceiling is not unconstitutional. Article I, Section 8, 2nd clause of the U.S. Constitution reads that one of the enumerated powers of the U.S. Congress is to: The executive is vested with no innate constitutional authority to issue new debt separate from Congress. The debt limit is actually an expansion of executive power. Historically it did not exist. Before its existence, every penny of borrowing done by…

The core reason we have this and most countries don’t, our constitution which was ratified in 1789 specifically says the legislature has the power to issue debt. Most other democracies budgeting and appropriations and taxing require legislative approval, but debt issuance is actually an executive function, often specifically by say a Minister of Finance or what have you (the terminology varies), but essentially the foreign equivalent of our Treasury Secretary usually as normal operations of their office issue debt “as necessary” to cover needs of the government. In those countries the legislature probably has some oversight and regulating authority on specifics of how the debt instruments work and etc, but they don’t have authority to approve or disapprove issuance, it’s seen as innate power of the equivalent of the Treasury Department of that country.

Basically we just have a very outdated way of doing it.

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