Not this time.
For the first time since 1996, the United States Government has shutdown. Due to Congress' inability to pass a spending bill (required by law for the government to spend any money that is not deemed mandatory spending) by the start of the fiscal year on October 1st, the US Government was forced to close most of its doors on Tuesday.
Is this the end of worlds? No. Not by a long shot. Will there be significant economic impact? Certainly. The last shutdown that occurred in 1995-1996 was estimated to have cost the government 1.4 billion dollars, and to make matters worse, this shutdown is much worse than its predecessor. In the case of the 1995-1996 shutdown, many appropriation bills had already been passed; which provided funding to many agencies and programs, and only closed certain parts of the Federal Government. In this case, most of these spending measures have NOT been appropriated by the government, and thus many programs and agencies cannot operate under the "Anti-Deficiency Act", which makes it a crime to spend taxpayer money that has not been appropriated by Congress.
Your daily lives however, will not be effected immediately. Taxes are still in effect during the shutdown. Some agencies have contingency plans to continue running for a short time on reserve funds. After a few weeks however, many of these programs will run out of funds to stay open. You will still receive mail during the shutdown. The United States Postal Service doesn't receive federal funding for day-to-day operations, and relies on stamps and postal fees to keep the system moving. However, don't expect to go down to your post office and expect to apply for a US Passport. The US Department of State has limited funds outside of what Congress appropriates, so it may stay open for sometime, but expect massive delays during this period.
National Parks and some museums will close. Yosemite, which celebrated its 123rd Birthday yesterday, was forced to turn away visitors like other federally funded attractions. Many of the famous museums and monuments that attract D.C. tourists every year will not be accepting visitors during the shutdown, unless they are funded by a separate entity.
On the note of D.C., the District of Columbia has its own problems as a result of the shutdown. Washington D.C. requires Congressional action to fund itself, and without it, many services would be slashed. During the 1995-1996 shutdown, garbage was not collected for weeks. A similar situation is expected in the event of an extended shutdown.
So who is to blame for the shutdown?
Many argue House Republicans. The biggest reason for the shutdown is the Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare". The President's biggest accomplishment to date, the most crucial part of the program went into effect on Tuesday as part of mandatory spending still funded by the government. Many Republicans refuse to negotiate the new spending bill if it does not include an abolition or delay of the program. While that may seem like a noble cause, this bill was passed March 23rd, 2010. It has been 3 1/2 years since this law was put into effect. It seems that the time for debate is over. Regardless of your ideology, there has to be some ability to accept a loss. Granted, the radical Tea-Party Republicans are the ones holding the government "hostage", and not the entire Republican caucus. The division between the moderates and radicals in the Republican party is wide; much of the Republican leadership have openly admitted their dismay with the 30 or so in the radical minority. House Speaker John Boehner was speaking about his plans for the party a few weeks ago when he joked with the reporters
"Do you have an idea? They'll (Tea-Party Republicans) just shoot it down anyway."
Evidently there are some issues in the Republican party.
But lets not place ALL the blame with the Republicans. The Democrats are not perfect either. President Obama has notoriously been known to be a bad team-player. Much of his presidency has been spent fighting with his Republican counterparts and less working with them. He has fought them on almost every issue, and gotten himself involved in Congressional matters that he truthfully has no business in. The Democrats also have a radical side that occasionally gets in the way of things, but it rarely gets media attention as the Democrats have a much more unified plan of action on Capitol Hill.
Regardless of whose fault it is; our government is still shutdown. A CNN poll recently found that only 1 in 10 Americans have faith in Congress to do their job, an astonishingly low percentage. It is time for our elected leaders to stop bickering over the same things over and over again, and find a common ground to act upon. Our representatives need to learn that part of being a team is that you won't always get your way, and that you cannot throw a temper-tantrum every time you disagree with something, Republican or Democrat.
So regardless of your political affiliation; what are your thoughts on the issue? Be sure to leave your Purple Opinions in the comments section below!
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