It's hard to believe that Congress is again playing chicken
over another government shutdown. Do they actually think they can
keep doing this and that it's going to do anything other than
further damage public confidence? Lost in the the discussion is the
fact that yet again Congress has failed to pass a budget on time.
The temporary spending measures that Congress is now tossing back
and forth between the House and Senate isn't even a budget.
It's a kick-the-budget-down-the-road measure to give Congress
more time to not do its job.
But this time a shutdown just might happen. The House Republicans,
while they have done a lot to advance the cause of fiscal
restraint, are overplaying their hand. A Government shutdown
backfired in 1994, and it may well backfire again. I don't
think that the President will compromise this time. The debt Super
Committee has until November to do its job of considering
alternatives to reduce our debt. The President can say, "the
Committee is working, this is premature."
Given the fragility of public confidence, these tactics just
don't make sense for the country. They come at a time where the
markets are stumbling and the economy is sputtering. I hope that I
am wrong, but I fear that I am right. While the country clearly is
behind the concept of fixing the national balance sheet, that
shouldn't be confused with a blanket approval from the public
to play chicken every couple of months.
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