And that is the key phrase — “constitutionally tasked to do” — in discussing government finance.
In truth, most “entitlement” programs are not authorized by the Constitution and were “authorized” only by making up new meanings for simple terms.
A big chunk of government spending could be erased simply by deleting the introductory Preamble (”We The People of the United States ...”) to the Constitution. The Preamble’s generic phrase “promote the general Welfare” is now taken as blanket permission for all kinds of awful spending programs that the Framers would have NEVER allowed.
So yeah, let’s shut ‘er down and enjoy the sound of the anguished howling.
In a federal government shutdown, the determination of what gets paid is controlled by the executive branch not by congress. After a month or 2 of social security payments being delayed, and after the media is left to assess blame, no republican will be elected to any federal office for the next 100 years.