For those of us who could pay attention, there was a sigh of relief when Congress cut a deal to end the government shutdown and agree to increase the debt ceiling. For many others, the 16-day shutdown represented another attack on their miserable lives, suffering caused primarily by the corporate elite and their operatives in Congress.
Let’s take a look at concepts like “debt ceiling” and a “clean CR” to determine what our roles are as citizens in this democracy “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
The debt ceiling is a cap on the total amount the U.S. government can borrow and is set by the Congress. It has been raised 77 times since 1982 as a routine part of the legislative branch’s duties – that is, until Obama became president. President Obama has frequently reminded us of two things: the president cannot raise the debt ceiling, and the debt is for spending that Congress, not the president, has already approved.
The current debt limit of $16.699 trillion was reached in May. Since then the U.S. Treasury has been using extraordinary measures to keep paying the bills. Kind of like us when the money coming in is less than our spending and so we engage in the exercise of “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” The government refers to it as prioritization. Republicans were quite willing to play chicken with our futures and the global economy.
Citizens saw, and hopefully appreciated, how much government is a part of our everyday lives. This is what our taxes are for: to provide us with infrastructure and security as well as goods and services.
One student told me of her surprise when she sought out stats for a college paper but the Department of Justice website was shut down. More serious impacts of the government shutdown were being heaped on top of the sequestration cuts imposed by a dysfunctional Congress in March 2013.
The financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s estimated the 16-day shutdown cost taxpayers $24 billion and “shaved at least 0.6 percent” off the country’s GDP growth. All government offices were shut down, meaning none of the people’s business was happening, from Head Start programs being closed to veterans’ claims left unprocessed.
Congress was working to agree on a clean Continuing Resolution (CR) that contained no hidden amendments or earmarks. It’s now come to light that some goodies were given to a few people. I won’t dally on the $174,000 widow’s payment that went to the wife of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, one of the richest senators to serve in the Senate. Let’s put the spotlight on the $2.9 billion add-on that benefited U.S. Sen. Mitch McDonnell, who is up for a tough reelection in 2014. Conservations have dubbed it the “Kentucky Kickback” and rightfully accused McConnell of being hypocritical in the GOP’s alleged efforts to curtail spending.
It’s time for the majority to put a stop to financial and political sabotage inflicted by the super-rich minority that drives us deeper in the abyss of despair. We have to become better educated and more engaged.
GOP House members from Missouri who voted nay to open up the government need to hear from their constituents and be targeted for replacement during their next election. That would be Ann Wagner and Blaine Luetkemeyer. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt had the political sophistication to vote yea.
The Tea Party definitely has the GOP responding to its threats. We need to get serious about a radical caucus within the Democratic Party that successfully runs candidates who stay true to a true democracy that is of, for and by the people.
This struggle over who runs the country (or runs it into the ground) is by no means over. Tea Party members are vowing for another fight when the debt ceiling issue comes up again in four months. They are blinded by the presence of a black person in the White House, but our goals have to be more long-term and inclusive to ensure the longevity of our democracy and our rights to live in peace and fairness.
