The recent government shutdown in my opinion is nothing but the result of childish behavior from both parties. This shut down did not need to occur. But procrastination and unwillingness of the house and the senate to compromise or at least work together to build a better America caused this to happen. Instead of working to sort out the health care reform and the debt ceiling issues, it seems to me as if both parties stood there with their arms crossed and faces pouted like a child who didn't get the toy they wanted as the clock ran out and the debt ceiling was reached, resulting in the shutdown, which further delays the process of figuring everything out. Regardless of my own political views, both parties are at fault, and it is a shame that it happened.
On a related note is the debt ceiling itself. The idea of this "ceiling" and mainly how the ceiling is dealt with has perplexed since I first heard about it. I thought, why have this debt ceiling if every time the debt is about to reach the ceiling, it is simply raised? It seems pointless to have this limit if the government will not obey the limit and make proper cuts as well as reforms to actually decrease the debt instead of increase it by less. I understand it is not easy to do that, but the supposedly smartest and most powerful people in the nation that were elected for this very job should figure it out!
You make a good point. The idea of a debt ceiling only makes sense if people actually ever sat down and revised their budget when they were about to hit it. But that never happens, for the reason that a different congressional process--appropriations--sets the level of spending. It's like buying a lock to put on the cookie jar and then leaving it unlocked. Pointless, and useless trouble for nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt seems you blame the party system for some extend, for the lack of cooperation between the two parties, and I agree with yah. There are other more effective systems, in terms of practicality, such as some sort of totalitarian system. The bicameral system implies a moral and just implementation of law, but all I see are constant squabbles about anything and everything -- it's really getting in the way. I don't support despotism, but this aristocratic oligarchy we have is getting annoying. Something, idk what, needs to be done to get some proper functioning going.
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DeleteI agree with your points about the shutdown being entirely "political" and childish.
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