Theoretically, the government won’t shut down after news of a bipartisan deal on the budget last week.

At least, it won’t shut down this time.

The mere fact that we once again even entertained the notion of a government shutdown is preposterous. Why in the hell does America keep doing this to itself?

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Some may remember that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE proposed to do away with this regular ritual of pain way back in July 2011. McConnell’s idea was that the president — which, for the record, was a Democrat at the time — should be allowed to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling unless Congress votes against the move.

But even now, with Republicans in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, we still have to do this song and dance.

I ask again: Why?

It’s not because politicians need to pander to their base. A recent Politico/Morning Consult poll shows roughly two-thirds of American voters say Congress should "take all necessary steps to avoid a government shutdown," and less than 1 in 5 say they could stomach a shutdown "if it helps them achieve their policy goals."

Republicans were elected to shake up the system—and yet, in the case of spending, the swamp is winning. https://t.co/uetsYB5bcW pic.twitter.com/ITlRoXbYid — Jim DeMint (@JimDeMint) April 26, 2017

It’s not because the theater is good for America’s standing with its creditors. In August 2011, when intransigent Republicans dug in on then-President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Senate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week MORE’s budget amid a European debt crisis, it resulted in the first-ever downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt. And along the way, the uncertainty caused the S&P 500 to lurch from about 1,350 to about 1,120 — a roughly 17 percent swoon that erased a full year of market gains.

And it’s certainly not because this debt ceiling and shutdown nonsense is ultimately a good way to keep spending in check. Consider these facts about last year’s budget, which should be common knowledge by now:

Medicare and Medicare Are a Quarter of the Budget: In fiscal 2016, health programs including Medicare and Medicaid totaled almost $960 billion, or 25 percent of the $3.9 trillion federal budget.

Social Security Is Almost Another Quarter: Social Security tallied $910 billion, or about 23 percent.

Defense Is Roughly 15 percent: In 2016, defense items totaled $580 billion for about 15 percent of the total budget.

Don’t Forget Interest on the Debt...: The Congressional Budget Office says net interest payments made up 6 percent of the budget in 2016, or about $230 billion.

…Or Military Pensions, Unemployment and Other “Mandatory” Spending: Those programs, which are mercifully not labeled as “discretionary” budget items,” rack up $560 billion more or another 15 percent.

That Adds Up to 84 cents Out of Every $1: The final tally of those four bullet points alone is 84 percent. So good luck balancing the budget by going after parks, State Department travel budgets or other small-time items.

If you want to engage with the topic of “wasteful government spending,” I’m all ears. After all, Bloomberg recently did a depressing analysis that showed Social Security is increasingly a great deal for wealthy Americans; in fact, a 50-year-old man in the bottom 20 percent of earners actually makes $4,000 less in lifetime benefits in 2010 vs. 1980 compared with someone in the top 20 percent of earners who makes $66,000 more in lifetime Social Security benefits, according to Bloomberg.

Why not an annual fight about entitlement reform, with both sides frothing at the mouth over Social Security eligibility ages or cost-of-living increases? Why not a war about removing the $118,500 cap on Social Security taxes that allows top earners to avoid truly paying their fair share into the system?

That may also lead to nothing, but at least is a conversation worth having.

If Congress had any stones, they wouldn’t settle for a stopgap fix this year as they have so many times before. They’d do as Mitch McConnell boldly proposed in 2011 – with a Democrat in the White House no less! – and kill this debt ceiling nonsense once and for all.

But they won’t. So instead, expect to hear fuss about another government shutdown again in the near future, regardless of any headlines about bipartisan agreements in the near term.

Jeff Reeves is a stock analyst and executive editor of InvestorPlace.com. His commentary has also appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal network.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.