this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2025
324 points (96.6% liked)
Explain Like I'm Five
19218 readers
47 users here now
Simplifying Complexity, One Answer at a Time!
Rules
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Reading this thread, I'm so glad I live in a country where government procedures at least somewhat make sense. I don't think there's any other place where the government failing to pass a budget wouldn't mean that government collapsing, new elections being called, and civil servants keeping the lights on until a new government is formed. It's crazy that the biggest economy in the world can just stop paying its employees because two political parties can grind the whole system to a halt.
Most Presidential democracies have systems like that; which would include most of the Americas. Hell, France is kind of going through that right now as well.
Even then, government shutdowns didn't become a thing until the 1980's.
For France we don't have an acting government as now but people not being payed is not a possibility. If the budget is not voted, the system use the previous budget to continue to act and pay the salaries.
Which is how the USA worked until 1980.