In the US congress sets a budget that the executive (represented by the president) has to spend, and at the same time puts a limit on the amount of debt they ar

In the US congress sets a budget that the executive (represented by the president) has to spend, and at the same time puts a limit on the amount of debt they are allowed to take out to spend that money. Somehow they always end up requiring more spending than what's covered by income and allowed debt, just so they can have a regularly scheduled fight to get some concessions in return for graciously allowing the country to pay their bills and continue employing people. It's a somewhat unique disfunction, and few countries in the world would survive these kinds of games.