> I think the problem is with the debt ceiling. While the debt ceiling issue is also frequently in the news, that is not what's going on here. In this case, th

> I think the problem is with the debt ceiling. While the debt ceiling issue is also frequently in the news, that is not what's going on here. In this case, the government has the money, they're just not allowed to spend anything. In the US, unlike many other democracies, budgets expire. So in order for the government to continue functioning normally, the legislative branch has to pass a new budget bill before the previous one expires, which did not happen in this case.