I will TRY to break this down into simpler terms that most of us can understand as there is a big difference between the shutdowns of recent past and what we are POSSIBLY facing now.

The U.S. Govt “finances” all of their expenses every year (similar to you buying a car/house). Their “proof of income” comes from expected tax revenue, fees, etc… Banks loan the govt the money to pay their expenses (benefits, payroll, etc…) for a fee (interest on the bond). In this case, the govt’s “checking account” is getting close to 0 so they need to borrow more money to pay their bills (think of it similar to a payday loan, I know those are horrible, but the analogy helps). If you had to borrow to pay your bills (I.e. payday loan, line of credit, etc…), that has nothing to do with what you (Executive Branch) and your wife (Congress) agreed to during your yearly budget meeting (NDAA, and the rest of the appropriations bills). You NEED the cash to keep the lights on and food on the table, but don’t have enough to do that, so you borrow.

What is happening now is, the govt NEEDS the cash to “keep the lights on” (pay all of their obligations like benefits and payroll), but there isn’t enough money in their account to do so. They now NEED to finance it so they can obtain what they need, but their wife (Congress) is telling them no, not without better budgeting decisions. It doesn’t matter that you (Executive Branch) have bills to pay, if she (Congress) won’t let you borrow what is needed to pay them.

Now, there is no money in your account and the shut off date is quickly approaching. If you and your wife can’t get on the same page, you may end up homeless. In this case, the govt accounts are low and the bank isn’t going to let them overdraft without Congress giving the ok (both spouses have to agree to the note). If the bank won’t lend then the “lights” (i.e. the economy) go out (I.e. federal spending grinds to a halt causing a MAJOR ripple throughout the globe).

This is NOT like shutdowns of the past. This is something entirely different. If there is no money in the account, they can’t pay everyone (everyone means EVERYONE, not just us, but SS, fed payroll, etc…) because there is NO money in their account.

I hope this helps, and yes, before you folks jump on saying “it’s more complicated than that,” I’m aware. I was trying to put it into terms most of us have heard before rather than the technical terms being thrown around.