14th Admendment and the Debt Ceiling

[TomC]

Here's what I don't get- if both the federal budget and the debt limit are statutory law, how can both be legal? It seems they are sending contradictory messages to the executive as to how to administer laws. Spend this amount of money (over what is taken in) but don't borrow more than this amount of money. If the contradictory laws are of equal standing- why, as some claim, is the executive forced to ignore the budget law and heed the debt ceiling law? I don't think "Democrats invoking the 14th" is sound at all, but if the executive has to choose which of the contradictory laws to follow, and the fact that Congress (and the Pres) created a budget that increases borrowing beyond the debt ceiling, does the 14th amendment imply that that debt shall not be questioned. Why does it seem like the debt ceiling congress established is higher law than the budget congress passed?