It’s been over a week now since Harry Reid delivered the minutes-after-midnight verdict to millions of eager American viewers, that after hours of negotiations an agreement had not been reached, and the government immediately dove into a state of shutdown.
In conveying the news, Reid was quick to point the finger at House Republicans for failing to compromise and approve the Senate version of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
But now amidst the ambiguity of the situation, Americans are wondering many things. Who is to blame? What will happen next? And most importantly, how does it affect each and every one of us? Abraham Lincoln once warned America that “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. Shortly after, many southern states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America.
Although today we are under far less dramatic circumstances, we are nonetheless in a cycle of partisan gridlock in the legislature. Both sides share part of the blame for failing to come to a middle ground on the debt ceiling extension and budget cuts.
One could pin the immediate blame on Republicans, as Reid and President Obama did, for rejecting the Senate Bill at the last hour, thus sending the country into financial shock-therapy.
As the days go on without an agreement the Democrats will continue to shine the spotlight on Republican leaders such as John Boehner, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, painting the picture of them as stubborn, Tea Party anarchists who are endangering our country’s faith and credit just because they don’t like the Affordable Care Act. On the other end, Republican congressional representatives, particularly those elected since 2010, ran on platforms opposed to “Obamacare” and big government in general and feel they are doing their job in the best interest of those they represent.
Also, the Republicans have made many concessions in the budget already in trying to reach an agreement, yet the President refuses under any circumstances to allow the A.C.A. to be delayed for a year, and will not compromise at all on the matter.
Aside from the party politics, the shutdown has already affected Americans, from the 800,000 federal worker furloughs to the increased uncertainty and volatility of global financial markets. Some particular situations include a recent outbreak of salmonella after the FDA lost some of its staff, as well as delayed distributions of flu shots to Medicare seniors from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
One of the biggest concerns of a prolonged shutdown is the possibility of the United States defaulting on its financial obligations, and October 17 has been labeled as the doomsday for this potential event to occur. Should the country default, catastrophic economic consequences could ensue. When the anchor of the global economy fails to pay its bills, one can only imagine the domino effect that could spiral out from there. Congressman Rand Paul of Kentucky, however, believes that a default is out of the question.
The Congressmen cites the Full Faith and Credit Act, passed by the House in May, which is a detailed plan prioritizing spending in the event of a shortfall such as this. The bill places debt interest payments ahead of other federal expenditures for avoiding a default. According to Congressman Paul, the federal government collects an average of $250 billion a month and owes $20 billion in debt interest payments therefore there is no possible way that these payments, when prioritized, would not be made. Unfortunately this would also mean automatic drastic spending cuts, gutting defense spending by up to 33%, coupled with tax hikes.
As far as what will happen next, it will most likely be a continuing resolution to temporarily open the government back up and further prolong the serious budget talks about spending cuts that many would agree need to be addressed. The agreement could come any day now at any hour, but until then Americans continue to wait in suspense.
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