Well, here we go again. We have another government shutdown because playing politics is more important to Congress than sustaining an uninterrupted functioning of our government. But, by changing our fiscal processes to conform with what most other countries have adopted, we can prevent this from happening in the future.

Most nations grant the authority to borrow funds needed to pay for approved spending as part of the budget approval process. The rationale for doing so is simple; once a government authorizes expenditures, it simultaneously authorizes payment of those expenditures.

But in the United States, we separate the processes. The Constitution gives the power of the purse to Congress. Each year Congress establishes a budget by setting planned amounts of revenue and expenditures.

Over the past half-century, Congress has consistently approved budgets where expenditures exceed revenue, thereby causing budget deficits that must be funded through additional borrowing.

However, under congressional parliamentary rules, authorizing the corresponding incremental borrowing is not part of the budgetary process. Therefore, when the existing debt limit is reached, Congress must separately approve additional borrowing by increasing the congressionally authorized limit on the amount the government can borrow.

© Santa Clarita Valley Signal