Okay, calm down. Basically nothing changes for us, except for maybe the national panda cam.
Don't get me wrong, there are many people who may be directly or indirectly impacted by the shutdown like the roughly 800,000 furloughed government employees (although the department of defense has called back some of its employees), government contractors, and those that rely on government programs. But with the news of the latest military offensive on major terrorist targets, it seems hard to believe that the government is in a power/money saving mode.
As someone who agrees that role of the federal government should be smaller, I still feel that the GOP is in the wrong here. "Obamacare" is the law now and congress should pass a budget that reflects this.
But really, I think all of this only really matters to the national economy if the debt ceiling is not raised. With the deadline for the debt ceiling looming (Oct 17.), the current debate becomes much more important if it is not resolved.
The Tea Party is at the center of this debate with Senator Ted Cruz effectively leading the GOP. So why not ask our favorite Tea Party member to weigh in.
Did she just call Obama a pin prick?
With positions that seem to be hardening, the two parties seem far from reaching an agreement. Leading the public to grow frustrated with the "babies" in congress.
On a positive note, the shutdown has provided for some nice entertainment in the last week, but with no end in site the shutdown jokes are beginning to get old fast. Here are some of the funnier responses from the media.
Colbert compares the government shutdown to Breaking Bad. (Couldn't get a youtube video so click on the link).
Sources
"I’m Having Some Trouble with My Government…." R3publican Restore Reenergize Reignite. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Government Shutdown." Robert Ariail. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013
"Sarah Palin Swipes at Barack Obama 'We Don't Do Pinpricks, But Sometimes We Elect Them'" YouTube. YouTube, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Bloomberg Businessweek's Cover Brilliantly Illustrates How Wall Street Sees Congress." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Funniest Reactions to the Government Shutdown." About.com Political Humor. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
""Breaking Gov"" Colbert Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
"Colbert Covers Breaking Gov During The Shutdown." Truthyism. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.
Great points!
ReplyDeleteI found it really interesting that although the government is in a shutdown and roughly 800,000 government employees are directly or indirectly affected, that the government is still on the military offensive and spending money targeting terrorists. Even though the government shutdown allows for actions that involve keeping national security and public safety, the fact that the government is spending money and offensively targeting terrorist that currently may not necessarily be deemed a national threat rather than spending the money to allow work for the 800,000 employees seems peculiar. But, at the same time, it does make sense since it does involve the protection of national security.
Overall, awesome post!
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ReplyDeleteAwesome blog post :) I agree with many of the points you made. I read somewhere a while back that the Government Shutdown itself does not significantly hurt the government. However, if this gridlock prevents discussions from being made to raise the debt ceiling by Oct 17, like you said, the consequences are much more severe. This article from CBS explains that if a compromise is not reached, it will "[jeopardize] the solvency of many financial institutions and choking off global credit flows." Furthermore, interest rates will skyrocket and the dollar will lose its value. However, many people involved in the finances believe that the parties in Congress will reach a compromise by then. I don't know how long it will take, but I think with all the anger the government is getting from the American people, one party will hopefully give in and end the government shutdown.
ReplyDelete*CBS Article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57606253/debt-ceiling-understanding-whats-at-stake/
P.S. Sorry if my comment's layout looks odd. I made a typo in my first comment and had to delete it :(
The “babies” picture definitely encompasses my frustration with these politicians and the consequences of their incompetence. Why does Congress’ inability to reach a consensus result in 800,000 government employees being furloughed and their payments being delayed? While on one hand, these employees don’t deserve to be sent home, it also seems illogical that, once the shutdown ends, they will get paid for time that they didn’t actually work. Paradoxically, the Congresspeople’s salaries remain unaffected through the shutdown. Here’s my ideal solution: if the Congress can’t do its job in the future, everyone else keeps working, but Congresspeople don’t get paid until they reach a compromise.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting point is that even though the government is continuing military offensives, it is also no longer able to enforce sanctions against Iran due to the shutdown since 90% of employees in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Intelligence are furloughed. This puts less pressure on Iran as "negotiations" begin between the two countries. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) blames the Obama administration for putting national security at risk, while treasury officials blame the House Republicans. Instead of furloughing all these "non essential" government employees, which in fact are still crucial to the functioning of the government, Congress should work harder to reach a resolution and not get paid instead of punishing everyone else for their mistakes.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/02/government-shutdown-empties-offices-enforcing-sanctions-on-iran.html
Well Said. You make a great point about the military offensive. Here we are in America with our government shut down and thousands out of work, and we are putting a bunch of resources into matters thousands of miles away. I think we should focus on our domestic problems before we go out trying to police the rest of the world. Furthermore, it never ceases to astonish me that despite everyone being furloughed, congress still gets paid. In my mind, that is totally backwards. We're trying to restructure our economy for the future, but, as it stands, things don't seem to be improving. Something has got to give with the budget ceiling or the shutdown, and fast, or it appears as though things are only going to get worse.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post and you make some very nice points. I find it somewhat funny and ironic that though there are so many federal employees furloughed, members of Congress are still being paid. It is like the government is rewarding itself for having shut down. One possibility, that I could think of, why the military is still being offensive is that the government wants to show other countries that America is not weak, despite the shutdown. This debate definitely is very important as the October 17th deadline for the debt ceiling comes closer and closer. Congress needs to find some way to put aside it's differences before the economy goes completely haywire.
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