Remind Me Again Why We Have a Debt Ceiling?

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


About a million political analysts have reminded us lately that it’s crazy for the United States to even have a debt ceiling. No other country does, after all. And it doesn’t make any sense: Congress incurs the debt when it passes a budget. Why bother with an entirely separate restriction on the level of debt? It’s just goofy.

So here’s my question: Since this is almost universally acknowledged, why do we have a debt ceiling law? Why wasn’t it repealed long ago by a majority party tired of the opposition using it to score political points? My seat-of-the-pants guess is that repeal could be passed as part of the budget reconciliation process, which means you wouldn’t even have to worry about a filibuster. You just need to control Congress and the presidency, and both parties have done that on a number of occasions over the past few decades.

So what keeps it around?

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate