The Debt Limit Explained

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ม.ค. 2013
  • Blog: Don't Read The News cgpgrey.substack.com/p/why-tv...
    * • Footnote *: But What A...
    † • Footnote †: Who REALLY...
    Special thanks to Neil H. Buchanan (www.dorfonlaw.org/) and Kyle McMahon ( / kamcma )
    Music by: www.davidreesmusic.com

ความคิดเห็น • 9K

  • @XBuilderBob
    @XBuilderBob ปีที่แล้ว +3658

    I love TH-cam recommending old CGP videos for me to watch that just happen to be very relevant to current political shenanigans

  • @sierralobo7163
    @sierralobo7163 9 ปีที่แล้ว +8550

    If con is the opposite of pro, congress is the opposite of progress.

    • @hawkince2130
      @hawkince2130 9 ปีที่แล้ว +120

      Sierra Lobo lmao!!

    • @ThomasGodart
      @ThomasGodart 9 ปีที่แล้ว +186

      Very well said! Lol ;-)

    • @crashencastles1502
      @crashencastles1502 9 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      Exactly!

    • @SturFriedBrains
      @SturFriedBrains 8 ปีที่แล้ว +137

      +Ral Crux Anarchy really doesn't exist is the problem. To have a consistent definition of of government, one which is simple, but nuanced enough to not be full of holes, one must define government as "the dominant force over an area of land". So if tomorrow the US government disappeared & all other levels of government were just gone, would there be no government? No, there would be MANY, MANY governments which would solely be defined by how many people organized with each other, how imperialist those forces were, how many guns & skill with said guns was in an area of organization, how much land they claimed & if said land was in contention.
      Technically if I owned land out in bumblefuck no where miles away from everyone & I was the only force which claimed it, I would be its sole government by definition.

    • @Ral9284
      @Ral9284 8 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      _"Anarchy really doesn't exist is the problem."_ A. Jodorowsky.
      *Authority* is a lie that people chooses to believe. *Power* is nothing more than blind and servile obedience towards an authority figure. In fact, is the government what doesn't exist. Every man born in slavery is born for slavery, but every man born free and took into slavery can tell the difference, SturFriedBrains.
      The government is an abstract object, it doesn't exist in reality. It is only a fictional fabrication of the mind, just like gods and any other mythological being. On contrast, Anarchy is a goal for an individual to achieve for, just like eating your next meal is a goal on itself.
      But do not confuse the Government with the people, that gave itself fictional authority and power through the fictional figure of the Government. They are the actors taking advantage from those who believe in the Government. For example the people from the Clergy, whom take advantage of people that believes in god existence.
      _"[Government is] the dominant force over an area of land"_ I understand that there is a primitive drive towards being subdued under an alpha male, but that is no justification to force others into submission just 'cause the more are comfortable with being slaves.
      If I took into account only force, and the effects derived from it, then what force gives can be taken away by the same. If force gives any right to anyone, then a bigger force can make it invalid. Force is a physical power, and I fail to see what moral effect it can have. And as soon as it is possible to disobey with impunity, disobedience is legitimate.
      Liberty results from the nature of self-preservation. The first law is to provide for self-preservation, one first cares are those which one owes to oneself; and one is the sole judge of the proper means of preserving oneself, and consequently becomes one's own master.
      The only government viable is the self-governing. If so then freedom is the consequence of self-responsibility, and to subdue to be governed voluntary by someone else is irresponsible in principle. It's no different than wearing shackles and freely choosing to become a slave.

  • @Kyle_Schaff
    @Kyle_Schaff 7 ปีที่แล้ว +13855

    So raising the debt ceiling is like hitting the snooze button on your alarm, got it

    • @davidndiulor8428
      @davidndiulor8428 7 ปีที่แล้ว +340

      Then how does the US ever get out of debt if it keeps raising the debt limit?

    • @Kyle_Schaff
      @Kyle_Schaff 7 ปีที่แล้ว +417

      It just doesn't wake up lol. As the old saying goes, "You snooze, you win"

    • @Kyle_Schaff
      @Kyle_Schaff 7 ปีที่แล้ว +54

      *****
      I think that applies to everyone but America

    • @hellome6796
      @hellome6796 7 ปีที่แล้ว +230

      It is like hitting the snooze button on a bomb

    • @ragnaroksora8129
      @ragnaroksora8129 7 ปีที่แล้ว +88

      I sometimes wonder if Obama would have been a great president without Congress lol

  • @Jack209
    @Jack209 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2772

    Oh and one thing not mentioned. As soon as the debt limit gets raised, Congress usually passes a massive spending bill (for example, the infrastructure bill) that instantly brings us 75% of the way to the new debt limit they set.

    • @SubtleHawk
      @SubtleHawk ปีที่แล้ว +98

      Infrastructure Bill is based though.

    • @wolverinero79
      @wolverinero79 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      This year they did it in the same breath.

    • @khalilrahme5227
      @khalilrahme5227 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@wolverinero79 what bill did they pass this year ?

    • @cringeginge7663
      @cringeginge7663 ปีที่แล้ว +94

      @@SubtleHawk its based until you realize how little of the money is going towards infrastructure

  • @Shenaldrac
    @Shenaldrac 8 ปีที่แล้ว +5936

    Not gonna lie, at first I thought the president was a potted plant before I realized that was a podium.

  • @fingerboxes
    @fingerboxes 5 ปีที่แล้ว +797

    Fun fact: the Supreme Court building is the only federal building project that actually returned money to the treasury from the budget it was given. A market crash happened between the time the budget was approved and the time the building was completed, driving the cost of building materials and labor down, which led to it being completed significantly under-budget.

    • @LightShoro
      @LightShoro ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Nice to know !

  • @popoffs5273
    @popoffs5273 ปีที่แล้ว +392

    I love how this video resurfaces everytime the debt limit gets hit

    • @Concord003
      @Concord003 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Me too! I just love it!

  • @watermelonhelmet6854
    @watermelonhelmet6854 ปีที่แล้ว +1094

    The more I learn about politics, the more it always boils down to: A group of people came up with a bunch of well meaning, common sense laws. People then bent, twisted and loopholed those laws until they were barely recognisable mockeries of what they were originally intended to be. Now they make zero sense, make everything more difficult and long-winded...but everyone still has to follow them because it's the law.

    • @sjs9698
      @sjs9698 ปีที่แล้ว +91

      'A group of people came up with a bunch of well meaning, common sense laws.'
      that's almost never how it starts. it generally starts with a few people (or just one) coming up with a way to control a shitload of people for fun & profit, then goes sharply downhill from there. there are a few cases i can think of where someone actually did put together a 'well-meaning' law but it's super-rare.
      yes, i'm sure i sound like a libertarian, & hence totally worth ignoring. but i am not one of those - honest. i'm a commie.

    • @paulbarbat1926
      @paulbarbat1926 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@sjs9698 I mean "thou shalt not steal" is a common sense law, which got twisted by mechanics like inherintance, and money bred money, and merit disappeared.
      Signed : another left radical

    • @Hypogean7
      @Hypogean7 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      @@sjs9698 Commies where even worse with that!

    • @cantthinkofaname5046
      @cantthinkofaname5046 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@Hypogean7 No, the worst part is, aside from the Soviet Union; the commies are actually pretty effective when not toppled and replaced with dictators by the CIA.

    • @anonymouscausewhynot
      @anonymouscausewhynot ปีที่แล้ว +34

      @@sjs9698 1.communists are worse.
      2. America is a *fantastic* example of what the original commenter said.

  • @Xenro66
    @Xenro66 8 ปีที่แล้ว +9347

    Basically, the US needs to take out a small loan of a trillion dollars.

    • @simonjude6594
      @simonjude6594 8 ปีที่แล้ว +318

      More like 19 trillion...

    • @sharkboyv
      @sharkboyv 8 ปีที่แล้ว +166

      More like 25 😂

    • @10tmoore
      @10tmoore 8 ปีที่แล้ว +155

      And add it to the small loans of 19.3 trillion they already have

    • @edi0157
      @edi0157 8 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      True. That is the REAL reason they need Trump!😂

    • @ranch2786
      @ranch2786 8 ปีที่แล้ว +57

      +Edi Ababei I doubt Trump could fix congresses mess at this point 😂

  • @SolaceAndBane
    @SolaceAndBane 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3166

    It's like Congress is using the President as a scapegoat when people get mad.

    • @bobbobson5595
      @bobbobson5595 6 ปีที่แล้ว +241

      SolaceAndBane
      That's probably half the reason the position exists

    • @Aspenisms
      @Aspenisms 4 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      @@bobbobson5595 the other half to never help any actual issues

    • @daniel4647
      @daniel4647 4 ปีที่แล้ว +261

      The role of a president is pretty accurately explained in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
      “The President in particular is very much a figurehead - he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had - he has already spent two of his ten presidential years in prison for fraud.”

    • @boijone8440
      @boijone8440 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      REALLY?!?! wow, i never thought of it like that

    • @camelofsiberia962
      @camelofsiberia962 4 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      @@daniel4647 Dude you just explained trumps presidentship

  • @dedinside5507
    @dedinside5507 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1163

    This makes sense considering congress has the hilariously low approval rating of 9%

    • @pop5678eye
      @pop5678eye 3 ปีที่แล้ว +157

      Congress overall has a low approval rating. The problem is that because of the partisan winner-takes-all way of electing representatives to Congress people always blame OTHER members at fault never their OWN representative whom they keep electing over and over...

    • @kingplunger6033
      @kingplunger6033 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@pop5678eye well, the winner takes it all voting is complete garbage anyway

    • @Pyxlean
      @Pyxlean ปีที่แล้ว

      All legislatures around the world have an approval rating lower than 50%

  • @kauhanen44
    @kauhanen44 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1014

    "We are going to die and only I can stop it. Now give money or I wont save us!"

  • @chizzicle
    @chizzicle 8 ปีที่แล้ว +6572

    Sometimes I wonder how the U.S has managed to survive this long considering how nonsensical their governing seems to be

    • @sean8521
      @sean8521 8 ปีที่แล้ว +857

      +Chizz We simply just put so much into our army and stuff that noone can or will fuck with us.

    • @0bserver00
      @0bserver00 8 ปีที่แล้ว +765

      +Chizz Because why would you afraid of crumbling economy when you have the biggest guns?

    • @CaptainTimo
      @CaptainTimo 8 ปีที่แล้ว +98

      yea sure ... continue to feel good about yourself ...

    • @chizzicle
      @chizzicle 8 ปีที่แล้ว +447

      Oh I'm planning to. USA is great at reminding me it could be worse even when my country fails at stuff
      Though to be fair, it's not like USA is the worst country in the world, it's just that some things they do make absolutely no sense so it's fun to make fun of those things. And people generally seem to agree Finland is better place to live that the U.S so I can at least be a bit smug about it, right?

    • @bcat010
      @bcat010 8 ปีที่แล้ว +203

      the US isn't as bad off as a lot of people like to think it is. The economics that are involved with nations are way more complicated than what people think.

  • @sonicmaster047
    @sonicmaster047 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4922

    Would be hilarious for a president to say all this on camera and show the population that he's not at fault and watch congress make a mad scramble to make up a bunch of stuff to try and get out of it XD

    • @blizzard1198
      @blizzard1198 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      They're fire him and chances are that they would kill him

    • @anna-flora999
      @anna-flora999 2 ปีที่แล้ว +360

      @@blizzard1198 or they'd blame each other. Like, reps blame all on dems regardless of who's actually in charge

    • @armandbier2502
      @armandbier2502 2 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      @@blizzard1198 Congress is not going to kill the president for revealing information that a person in the United Kingdom can look up on his leasure.
      Also a president is "impeached" not fired, as congress is not the boss of the president, but a different branch of the government.

    • @gofriskyourself-truepacife6025
      @gofriskyourself-truepacife6025 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@armandbier2502 Congress can remove a president from office.

    • @armandbier2502
      @armandbier2502 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      @@gofriskyourself-truepacife6025 do you not know what impeachment means?

  • @neonicplays
    @neonicplays 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2283

    TIL: American politics is about “winning agaisnt the other side” and not about “providing a good country for thr citizens it’s meant to serve” got it

    • @joshuabradley6727
      @joshuabradley6727 4 ปีที่แล้ว +86

      precisely

    • @dinamosflams
      @dinamosflams 4 ปีที่แล้ว +165

      How else would you explain their health system or the educational system, or the unneployment regardless of their massive dept (also the Wars)?

    • @neonicplays
      @neonicplays 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Vinícius de A Batista exactly

    • @ReedHarston
      @ReedHarston 4 ปีที่แล้ว +88

      That is just politics everywhere. Politics ≠ Government. People in government tend to like the power they get from their office and turn to politics to keep that power.

    • @georgy2596
      @georgy2596 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      And THIS is why Canada is better

  • @thrakerzad5874
    @thrakerzad5874 3 ปีที่แล้ว +581

    Just keep spending til the interest each month is more than the entire gdp.

    • @ethanhaynes7406
      @ethanhaynes7406 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @ExtraGoose Animations I mean... it's because it's recent and got a couple likes

    • @ohnoitisnt
      @ohnoitisnt 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Yep and then watch as 100% of your countries tax revenues need to go into interest payments. Nah just print more money right... and lower interest rates to keep your repayments down

    • @aoneill324
      @aoneill324 3 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Then just declare bankruptcy, take the 10 year morale penalty and hey presto free money 💰

    • @albertjordan3249
      @albertjordan3249 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@aoneill324 Someone's been playing too much EUIV

    • @bladefox-ik5iy
      @bladefox-ik5iy 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @romancase that’s the joke

  • @aten747official
    @aten747official 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1449

    So the president gets yelled at for spending what congress tells them to spend.... reminds me of an episode of spongebob....

    • @radioactivebitflip8873
      @radioactivebitflip8873 10 ปีที่แล้ว +128

      The one where Mr.Krabs forces spongebob to Buy a bunch of cool stuff so he could get it up with Ms.Puff?
      It would be funny if Obama ends up using colorful language on the congress in the end, just like the show.

    • @aten747official
      @aten747official 10 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      yes Gordon Freeman the Lombax of Space and Hedgehogs and THE TRUE HIGH KING OF SKYRIM AND PANDAS

    • @thomashiggins6471
      @thomashiggins6471 10 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Gordon Freeman the Lombax of Space and Hedgehogs and THE TRUE HIGH KING OF SKYRIM AND PANDAS ...
      I have nothing to add to this conversation, I just wanted to say that username

    • @emaginationproductions
      @emaginationproductions 6 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      But Congress, we're not talking about This or This, we're talking about THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!!!

    • @agungpriambodo1674
      @agungpriambodo1674 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Best analogy ever

  • @lumi8725
    @lumi8725 6 ปีที่แล้ว +232

    SPONGEBOB UR SPENDING ALL ME MONEY!!
    BUT MR KRABS U TOLD ME TO DO IT :(

    • @ok-se9jf
      @ok-se9jf 6 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      :(

    • @dianejeanespiritu
      @dianejeanespiritu 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS: Δ
      OR THIS: O
      WE'RE TALKIING ABOUT THIS : Ѩ

  • @armadiyoo
    @armadiyoo ปีที่แล้ว +86

    CGP grey always finds his way back into the algorithm

  • @aapjew18
    @aapjew18 7 ปีที่แล้ว +584

    Shocked, *shocked*!

  • @Henri_Ikari
    @Henri_Ikari 10 ปีที่แล้ว +253

    TL;DR: The President is a figurehead for everybody to blame while Congress gets away scot-free.

    • @mikeblain9973
      @mikeblain9973 10 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      HAHA! Are you familiar with the satirical comedy of Douglas Adams? In Hitchhikers he has the president of the galaxy being chosen as the most inappropriate outrageous character, just so everyone is distracted from whats really going on behind the scenes.

    • @rphb5870
      @rphb5870 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Well Congress is the opposite of Progress

  • @bobnub8194
    @bobnub8194 8 ปีที่แล้ว +485

    There was actually a petition to build a death star, which was obviously rejected.

    • @TheStargateNerd
      @TheStargateNerd 8 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      Citation needed.

    • @joaozin156
      @joaozin156 8 ปีที่แล้ว +84

      petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/secure-resources-and-funding-and-begin-construction-death-star-2016

    • @alexgerasimov1344
      @alexgerasimov1344 7 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      That's funny. I love how they still got the cost wrong though.

    • @morganjones4281
      @morganjones4281 7 ปีที่แล้ว +82

      We're going to build a Death Star and we're going to make The Martians pay for it!

    • @MGSLurmey
      @MGSLurmey 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@joaozin156 Citation no longer valid. New citation needed.

  • @GameMaker3_5
    @GameMaker3_5 2 ปีที่แล้ว +97

    8 years later and it's still just as relevent as if it was uploaded yesterday.
    and i'll bet it ends the same way that the video notes...

    • @iamthinking2252_
      @iamthinking2252_ 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      except that technically, the congress is controlled by the same party that holds the presidency... which makes this even more bizarre

  • @daveSoupy
    @daveSoupy ปีที่แล้ว +24

    Grey your old content will never not be relevant. It’s amazing how evergreen your original content continues to be

  • @confusedcaveman6611
    @confusedcaveman6611 3 ปีที่แล้ว +487

    Imagine being able to pay with a credit card that your kids have to pay off.
    But instead of paying it off, they pay the bill and the interest with another credit card that *their* kids have to pay off
    And so on and so forth. That could never possibly create a bubble. Right? What could go wrong?

    • @johnc646
      @johnc646 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      The reason we’re in that situation is that the very large and very in accessible federal government is the one collecting all the taxes. The right way to do this is for all taxes to be levied by the municipal government, with the state appealing to municipalities for funding, and feds appealing to states.
      This way the very people taxing you live down the street within gunshot range if they dare take more than their fair share.

    • @nwj03a
      @nwj03a ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @John C That would never work for a ton of reasons.
      Why would a small farming community agree to send their municipal taxes (doesn’t matter if it’s a penny) up to fund NASA? Or even the county to run the county school board (they all home school)? Or the state to run highway patrol (they don’t have a highway)? Or the federal government to fix a bridge three states away?
      They wouldn’t. Just like an affluent neighborhood in California would have zero interest in funding a library in Montana.
      You going to go pay for some guy in towns fridge to get fixed? Even if you’ve never met him? Even if you have the money?
      People do not fund things that don’t directly effect their lives, at least not nearly enough for a country to work.

    • @anthonydelfino6171
      @anthonydelfino6171 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      This would make sense only in a world where the parent could also just create money out of thin air to pay that bill anytime it wanted. Congress could approve the minting of a 1 trillion coin that it then uses to pay off all its debt, but they don't. National debt doesn't really work the same as household debt for exactly that reason.

    • @anthonydelfino6171
      @anthonydelfino6171 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@johnc646 This was the way the government was run prior to the writing of the constitution, and spoiler alert, it was so dysfunctional that we called a constitutional convention in order to write up a solution.

  • @KTChamberlain
    @KTChamberlain 8 ปีที่แล้ว +291

    Thank God the U.S. didn't take out a loan with the Iron Bank of Braavos, because if it did and couldn't pay back the loan the Iron Bank would fund our enemies to get it back one way or another.

    • @cyrus5958
      @cyrus5958 8 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Haha
      In reality counties really just juggle interest expensive dept with cheap dept to pay off the interest expensive dept

    • @user-rr9ng9bo9l
      @user-rr9ng9bo9l 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      ...oh wait

  • @grim9899
    @grim9899 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    & nearly 10 years later when I hear about it on the news , is when this pops up on my feed

    • @diekssus7194
      @diekssus7194 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It's a beautifull reunion every time.

  • @jddes
    @jddes ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Every few years this video becomes relevant again...

  • @OrchidAlloy
    @OrchidAlloy 8 ปีที่แล้ว +521

    This sounds... Fucking awful.

    • @mammon310
      @mammon310 8 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      And now find the video on the Federal Reserve and you'll see the "why". Rich stealing from the poor.

    • @genstian
      @genstian 8 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Led Zed In a way we do. But the Federal Reserve QE programs and record low interst force us too. There are two groups of rich people, those who benefit, mainly Wall Street, and those that don't, mainly bond, currency traders and regular people.

    • @ravbseime8008
      @ravbseime8008 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It it

    • @mammon310
      @mammon310 7 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Stian Andreassen
      Right on the money, I always tell people that I hate certain rich people, I've met them, I interned at Goldman Sachs and it was a HUGE reality check, these people don't care about ANYTHING, they would destroy the world if it meant they could make a dollar, they need to be eradicated. Like killed, more specifically, I hate to say it but we have no choice, the only way to fix this reverse the fear they instill on us on a daily basis with the media and show them that if they are going to fuck us over, they will be hunted down and killed, like the animals they are.

    • @TheGamer1402
      @TheGamer1402 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Wow you guys seem to really suck...

  • @TrueCRaysball
    @TrueCRaysball 10 ปีที่แล้ว +210

    And that is why Congress is hated so much.

  • @scottruesch7783
    @scottruesch7783 7 ปีที่แล้ว +70

    I've learned much more just watching a few of your videos than I've learned in about 9-10 years of formal education in the US. That should be done sort of indicator that the government (or just Congress, but seeing as to how the president can veto the budget, he's still partially liable) has their spending priorities completely out of whack.

    • @xanderpearson731
      @xanderpearson731 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It’s actually the states that have to pay for education.

  • @kcottone
    @kcottone 2 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    What a fucked up way to run a government.

  • @skyrimmiryks
    @skyrimmiryks 9 ปีที่แล้ว +160

    I turned the volume down on my phone thinking the bomb would explode...

    • @brandess13
      @brandess13 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Nick Baker stoner

    • @rodionmarienko9599
      @rodionmarienko9599 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Oh it will....Eventually....Maybe.....)

  • @nightwi5h959
    @nightwi5h959 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I love how this popped back up on the reccomended list...can't possibly work out why...

  • @puffmapper2076
    @puffmapper2076 7 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    I feel like the debt limit is one of those things that totally messes stuff up but we can't get rid of it without making an even bigger mess.

  • @Concord003
    @Concord003 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    This video was posted 10 years ago, and now it's relevant again!

  • @mohammadfarhat422
    @mohammadfarhat422 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Wow, this was in my recommended page.......I see what youtube is doing

  • @boink666
    @boink666 7 ปีที่แล้ว +637

    Why do I learn more from your videos then from school? Congress should spend more on education. No joke.

    • @jackdaniels4975
      @jackdaniels4975 7 ปีที่แล้ว +85

      Spend?! EDUCATION?! FUCK NO let's make more missiles for those brown people with all that oil to choke on! Hell, we're not even spending money on those missiles, what money would we spend on it hah!

    • @ultimadei7102
      @ultimadei7102 7 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Liked for political accuracy.

    • @pjorgensen2
      @pjorgensen2 7 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      About $10,500 is spent on each student in the U.S. The problem isn't the budget of education but rather the ineffectual way the money is spent and bad staff having tenure. There's more to it than that but each state already spends a LOT of money on education.

    • @SpaceMonkey2385
      @SpaceMonkey2385 7 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Smoky you forgot the fact that there was an interest. If you're interested in something you're more apt to learn it. Also, this is more geared to people with limited attention spans. Most people nowadays can't focus for much more than an hour. I blame it on things like this and the fact life is so rushed now. People want things instantaneously, including knowledge. Not long ago you had to take your time and read it instead of a 2 second google search or 3 minute youtube video.

    • @whatactuallyhappens9857
      @whatactuallyhappens9857 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      *less
      we need educating to educate, not assimilate

  • @techniack
    @techniack ปีที่แล้ว +19

    TH-cam had a cruel sense of humor to recommend this now

  • @MyToranja
    @MyToranja ปีที่แล้ว +7

    It's that time of the year, where this video becomes relevant again!

  • @chrissytheconqueror7049
    @chrissytheconqueror7049 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    This video is currently relevant... Again.

  • @stewdippin
    @stewdippin ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I wonder why this video was recommended to me in January 2023 🤔

  • @fsdds1488
    @fsdds1488 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I love the fact that TH-cam decided to recommend me this video after the news hit.

  • @SM-fz3et
    @SM-fz3et ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Oh look it's that time again.

  • @vizthex
    @vizthex 7 ปีที่แล้ว +419

    So the President is just kinda........there and does not much.

    • @hexx2211
      @hexx2211 7 ปีที่แล้ว +138

      Vizthex The president gets all the recognition and all of the blame. He basically just puts a face on the government while everyone else works behind him and tells him what to do and say. That's why when people start complaining about government decisions, the president will more often say "we" instead of "I". His whole job is really based on what everyone else is doing.

    • @vizthex
      @vizthex 7 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Hexx
      Which means he doesn't rly do much on his own :D

    • @hexx2211
      @hexx2211 7 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      Vizthex​ It's impossible for him to. Imagine the horror of having the whole country led by one man. I mean, we've had some crooked officials, but we've also had some terrible presidents, too. Like in this upcoming election. Whoever wins, despite our candidates being horrible in their own ways, the other branches can keep them in check, so they can't actually do all that they say they will. It will just be other people working in the background and the president will have to face it that they made promises they couldn't fulfill.

    • @vizthex
      @vizthex 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Hexx
      Why do you even care....I'm a random guy on the Internet....

    • @hexx2211
      @hexx2211 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Vizthex I don't know, but same here.

  • @frostysnowdog
    @frostysnowdog 8 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Thank you. I basically understood the debt limit as being money already "spent" (or at least earmarked for spending) - but your method of listing the roles of each branch of gov't really helped to explain it. I didn't know that the President *Had* to spend the money. For example - if I had budgeted to redecorate my house sometime this year - but the money I hoped to save wasn't shaping up - I wouldn't schedule the work. I thought the whole debt limit problem (at its crux) was because the redecoration of the house had occurred but the money to pay the bill wasn't available . I can see how being mandated to do the work whether the money was there or not could be a problem!!

  • @im_not_political2026
    @im_not_political2026 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Watching again after the current debt limit fiasco

  • @Trequavion
    @Trequavion ปีที่แล้ว +12

    whos just now getting this recommended

  • @poppyorangeflower
    @poppyorangeflower 10 ปีที่แล้ว +102

    How did this procedure get approved anyway? Doesn't seem like checks and balances to me, Congress seems to basically tramp over the President at will.

    • @romankazinets1759
      @romankazinets1759 5 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      Very old comment but because the founding fathers wanted the government to be weak and non opressive.

    • @aguyhere7945
      @aguyhere7945 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      That's kind of the point though? The President isn't supposed to be a king.

    • @user-tw3ru7ez4n
      @user-tw3ru7ez4n 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      the problem is, congress is stupif

    • @aayushpatel2788
      @aayushpatel2788 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      A guy here President is supposed to be the Head of State and the Head of Government not a puppet though

    • @princejellyfish3945
      @princejellyfish3945 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@aayushpatel2788 The president should be a puppet though, to the people, which in theory is what congress is--a representation of the people's will. However, with legal lobbying and the allowance for the two parties to write themselves basically into law, the congress doesn't really represent that any more.

  • @IamNoisyroblot101
    @IamNoisyroblot101 7 ปีที่แล้ว +195

    1:04 creeper in the upper left

  • @shengshu3510
    @shengshu3510 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    My my has this video aged like wine

  • @lumpymuffins69
    @lumpymuffins69 10 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I've been watching you since my sophomore and I've been waiting for your videos to show up in one of my classes. Finally this one came up in my senior year economics class and I totally geeked out. Keep up the great work, CGPGrey!

  • @JCDavis314
    @JCDavis314 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Oh look, a CGP Grey video that’s painfully prescient.

  • @cutestbear3327
    @cutestbear3327 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    here we go again. may this video enjoy another wave of views.

  • @Chrnan6710
    @Chrnan6710 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    _"Here we are again, the start of the end,_
    _But there's More."_
    -Todd Rundgren, 1973

  • @Schwarzie10
    @Schwarzie10 7 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    I love how he snuck the death star in the budget with "whatever"

  • @gearcraftrealestate4419
    @gearcraftrealestate4419 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    After a 2-hour CGP Grey marathon I believe I have found my favourite video :) Awesome work!!!

  • @christopherramsey7027
    @christopherramsey7027 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    0:39 "by _writing_ a budget"
    This is really clever wording here, because even though Congress does "write" the budget, both houses and the president have to pass it into law, just like any other bill. Similarly, every change to the debt limit is written by Congress, voted on by Congress, and eventually signed into law by the president. Even though I agree the debt limit doesn't make sense, it's unfair to mischaracterize the president as someone with no leverage in the situation, especially when he can just veto it and (usually) stop it from passing.

    • @remembertotakeshowerspleas355
      @remembertotakeshowerspleas355 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It's comments like these that make me wonder how much subtle misinformation gets slid into these videos.

    • @Griffin419
      @Griffin419 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      "Even though I agree the debt limit doesn't make sense". Yes, how silly to think one should only spend money one actually has...

    • @fusroda_2046
      @fusroda_2046 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Congress can however veto the veto. Congress can just trample over the president if they all agree to

  • @frank3p088
    @frank3p088 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Could not be more relevant now with the 2023 Recession looming... even though this was made in 2013. Thank you Computer Generated Person Grey!

  • @michaldrabek5788
    @michaldrabek5788 4 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    So, it's basically a trillion-dollar version of a procrastinator's mind...

  • @GSYdrums
    @GSYdrums ปีที่แล้ว +10

    It’s 2023 and the TH-cam algorithm knows what it’s doing

  • @OmegaTurtle
    @OmegaTurtle ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Well here we are again…

  • @clupos74
    @clupos74 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    This channel is helping me not be frustrated when I don’t understand something

    • @audracraig1211
      @audracraig1211 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      As is one of its many reasons for its existence.

  • @megaawesomesupreme
    @megaawesomesupreme 2 ปีที่แล้ว +92

    Man. This is actually happening now

  • @Kunori
    @Kunori 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Looks like this video is very relevant again!

  • @neyara2532
    @neyara2532 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    ITS THAT TIME AGAIN

  • @megamuffin15
    @megamuffin15 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    It's that time of year again!

  • @chicken29843
    @chicken29843 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    So the debt thing is entirely because of Congress and the presidents have had functionally no say

  • @MichaelPace2.0
    @MichaelPace2.0 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This is such a great explanation, everyone needs to see this.

  • @jacobrodriguez6911
    @jacobrodriguez6911 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    9 years later..

  • @fakhrimahendra4171
    @fakhrimahendra4171 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    This is getting more and more relevant

  • @taiodelgato9596
    @taiodelgato9596 10 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    PLEASE DO A VIDEO explaining the Affordable Care Act(Obama Care). It'll be a great service! From a"Map Geek" to the next, Keep up the good work!!!

  • @tornadospin9
    @tornadospin9 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    So, as long as we pay the interest of this debt we’ll be fine. Problem is, the more debt you rack up, the more money you have to pay just to par the interest. For example, a 10% interest with $100 will have money to pay off than 10% with $1000. More and more government budget is put towards this interest each year. Eventually, it will reach a crustal mass where there is more interest than the government makes. When that happens we are screwed. It’s like a dangling Anvil that’s getting heavier and heavier. Eventually, the rope will snap and smash through the floor boards AKA us bring the government and the world economy with it. We have 3 options. We could pay off the more than we push our selves into it. This would hurt the economy and take centuries to pay off. It took the Germans 90 years to pay off $23 Billion WWI reparations. We have almost 1000x that. 2: we could dig ourselves deeper until we reach a tipping point. 3: We could cut the rope and deal with the consequences now instead of later. It would be bad but better than option 2. We are in a catch 22. God help us.

  • @Persephon94
    @Persephon94 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Gods, I always find something reliably relevant with you. Love your work~

  • @danmur15
    @danmur15 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    well looks like this is relevant again

  • @imbored742
    @imbored742 10 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    This video does kinda gloss over the negative effects of national debt, which is why the debt limit was instituted in the first place. Sure politicians playing the blame game is not conducive to getting things done (most things involving politicians aren't) but massive national debt is crippling to economies for the same reasons that massive personal debt is crippling to financial well-being.
    We can't simply pull money out of the air to pay for things we can't afford. While ideas like the debt limit have been bogged down in politics there needs to be some way to curtail the massive increases we've been seeing in national debt.

    • @asthmaticrhino
      @asthmaticrhino 10 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      You mean like passing a balanced budget? That would be just crazy, huh?

    • @imbored742
      @imbored742 10 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      asthmaticrhino There's no real incentive for politicians to pass a properly balanced budget. It would be far too politically inconvenient.
      Everyone wants their pet project funded and no one wants to raise taxes as it would be political suicide (for good reason) not to mention tremendously harmful for the economy.
      Furthermore, a politician's main goal is to get re-elected, so they tend to limit their long-term thinking to the next election cycle and no further. And then they can score some points in the polls by blaming the bad budget on how uncooperative their opponents were.

    • @alexandre3989
      @alexandre3989 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      How about a deficit limit that congress has to respect when passing a budget?

    • @imbored742
      @imbored742 10 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Alexandre Pinho Any deficit increases the national debt. Limiting how fast the debt increases is not the issue, decreasing the national debt is.
      What really needs to happen is that people need to realize that they can't have the gov't pay for everything. Limit the gov't to it's essential functions, and then watch them like a hawk to make sure they stay that way.

    • @alexandre3989
      @alexandre3989 10 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      imbored742
      How about raise the ridiculously low taxes? Or at least close some loop holes in the tax code. Check out Bernie Sander's progressive budget: www.bernie.org/action/bernies-progressive-budget/

  • @asierra8787
    @asierra8787 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    here we go again

  • @kallekulmala1876
    @kallekulmala1876 4 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    It's a very big brain strategy to spend more than you earn

    • @PandemoniumMeltDown
      @PandemoniumMeltDown 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Well, if you don't have to pay the bill...

    • @seanmac1793
      @seanmac1793 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      the government doesn't earn it sources. the government doesn't spend more than it has it spending more than it desires to collect for a large range of reasons

  • @steveheist6426
    @steveheist6426 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    No idea why this is showing up in YT recommended.
    Nope.
    None at all.

    • @mikebean.
      @mikebean. ปีที่แล้ว

      It must be because the us is about to hit the debt limit

  • @DaimonAnimations
    @DaimonAnimations 8 ปีที่แล้ว +390

    People blame Obama but they should blame the Congress.

    • @TheQuigs07
      @TheQuigs07 8 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      +Dai mon They blame the person who appears to be in charge. Though they vote for both Pres, and Congressmen/women. People basically vote for other people who get paid with their taxes to tell them about problems that they are causing themselves.

    • @NicCagetheDickMage
      @NicCagetheDickMage 8 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      So the president is congresses fall guy?

    • @DaimonAnimations
      @DaimonAnimations 8 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      Nic Cage the Dick Mage Isn't that the reality? The president all can do is propose his solutions but is the congress at the end if they allow it or not. The president has no real power outside of that. Or am I wrong?
      All presidents promise things to get a better country but is the congress who helps them to achieve this ideas or shut the door in their faces and lose the opportunity to go through. Is not that the president doesn't follow his promises, is that the congress not always allows this to most presidents unless it benefits the congress directly.

    • @BrandonByerly-Sam9501
      @BrandonByerly-Sam9501 8 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      In all honesty, the entire process of voting for a president is really just a waste of time and a waste of money. Its not like the president gets a say in anything. I feel like the whole election is simply there so that there is argument between the citizens of the United States.

    • @ejr7733
      @ejr7733 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      People blame trump but hey should blame congress

  • @InspiredCaterpie
    @InspiredCaterpie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This here algorithm is very funny for recommending this video to me in September 2021.

  • @lbesavant
    @lbesavant 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    About that…..

  • @anthonybowman3423
    @anthonybowman3423 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I remember back when I was in the military and we couldn't get paid one month because they couldn't figure out how to balance the budget. Wasn't an issue for me, but I had friends with wives and kids that needed that check in the mail. Not entirely on topic, but not entirely irrelevant either.

  • @skipperdelcara5910
    @skipperdelcara5910 8 ปีที่แล้ว +205

    Congress just sounds like an oversized burden

    • @VCYT
      @VCYT 8 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      +Skipper Del Cairde - no, that's the Muslim world.

    • @KiesandNoob
      @KiesandNoob 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      +Skipper Del Cairde
      Welcome to America.

    • @truboo4268
      @truboo4268 8 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      +Skipper Del Cairde Yeah, just ask Russia. Putin, or any Russian leader, doesn't have to drag their feet through a legislative branch just to pass a law that the majority of people want, but the members of that legislative branch don't.

    • @thelogicalapproach7103
      @thelogicalapproach7103 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      +Bryan Cotto a president could always just use executive orders to pass a law that the majority of the people don't want. That's awesome too, huh?

    • @trispectre8366
      @trispectre8366 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The Logical Approach But congress can retract it though if it wants too.

  • @vellyjatt007
    @vellyjatt007 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Who’s here after Oct,2021 U.S Debt limit raised to $28.9 Trillion Dollars.

  • @xamol732
    @xamol732 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    the only channel that *ACTUALLY* makes learning fun

  • @austin30233
    @austin30233 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hmmm.... why is this popping back into my feed in January 2023 I wonder?

  • @MrSafer
    @MrSafer 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I am just seeing this now in 2020 sorry if someone already mentioned or went over this.
    This is a MAJOR over-simplification, the amount of agencies and entire office buildings dedicated to managing budgets is enormous. For example, my brother works for the army and his entire job is ensuring night vision goggles are ordered and make it to where they are needed, about 300 people do the same job he has. You can see why the budget gets bloated fast.

    • @frankyboy8513
      @frankyboy8513 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      yeah its almost as if this channel is for simplification of complicated topics

    • @TJStellmach
      @TJStellmach ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Consider that there are over a million people in the US Army.

  • @victorniel368
    @victorniel368 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    2023 debt limit anyone?

  • @MrMarcox199
    @MrMarcox199 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Welcome back!

  • @CiY3
    @CiY3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    come back to this it seems every year now...

  • @Lucasp110
    @Lucasp110 8 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    In Brazil we have the Fiscal Responsibility Law, that say that the states, municipalities and the union can't spend more than 1/2 of the taxes money.

    • @amypage3189
      @amypage3189 8 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      +Lucasp110 But isn't Brazil's economy absolute shit?

    • @rafaelhernandez3690
      @rafaelhernandez3690 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      It's because of this that many countries can't develop like the U.S. has. They depend on resources of their land and people to back their worth while the U.S. has no limit of spending and borrowing as long as it makes a steady return and holds control of the world economy with its currency. Don't get me wrong I love and live in the U.S. but didn't know this lifestyle would be that costly and it makes me sad other countries development is halted by this.

    • @davidburke4101
      @davidburke4101 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      +Rafael Hernandez The only reason that america works like that because it is the international currency. Without that leverage america would be broke like a person with too much credit card debt.

    • @jasonstelzer2250
      @jasonstelzer2250 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Then why collect those taxes if they aren't going to be used a 1:2 ratio seems ridiculous and unnecessary, and creates a tax burden without much benefit.

    • @dragonhold4
      @dragonhold4 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Lucasp110
      That's an interesting way to handle corruption.
      If there is a limit, people should be more attentive in how they spend and plan for the future.
      What's important is for a government to develop successful methods to plan appropriately on a macroeconomic level.
      -If a kid can't manage their own little allowance appropriately, why_should/how_can they be trusted with an inheritance of a life's earnings.

  • @milanrakic6297
    @milanrakic6297 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Actually a better way to deal with this is for the Congress to decrease spending below the need of borrowing until an influx of tax money.
    I also believe that citizens would be happier to pay taxes if they influenced where THEIR money went, thus even potentially making spending more efficient and supported.

  • @moronix4902
    @moronix4902 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The fact that the video ended at 3:33 really shows the effort he put in making this video

  • @ChadRockwell
    @ChadRockwell 7 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    when you said last possible second at the end of the video
    my alarm went off when you said second
    .-.

  • @Matthew_Murray
    @Matthew_Murray 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This is being recommended again guess what time of year it is….

  • @GuardNinja250
    @GuardNinja250 9 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    We need to get the budget on a Dave Ramsey class.

  • @luizmelo8611
    @luizmelo8611 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It's 2021 and this video is still ultra relevant.

  • @NFSHeld
    @NFSHeld หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Wait, this video just popped up in my recommendations. Is it time again, yet?

  • @kelteglemou5104
    @kelteglemou5104 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Very relevant right now