Near the Edge of the Precipice

Tomorrow the government will shutdown due to lack of funding.  A few days ago perhaps this wasn't a foregone conclusion.  Today it seems almost predestined.  While I certainly hope for the sake of the nation that Democrats and Republicans can work things out, it's looking increasingly less likely that a deal will get done as we approach the deadline.

I've been doing a lot of reading on who will benefit from this politically, Democrats or Republicans.  I think it's a shame that we're discussing who will benefit politically when we know who will suffer - Americans.  A government shutdown may be good for one party or the other, but it's not good for us.

Nevertheless, our politicians can't reach a compromise, and though neither side deserves to benefit, one side, excuse me, one fraction of one side is to blame.  It goes without saying that I'm talking about the Tea Party.  Tea Party politicians are willing to let millions of people lose necessary government support and willing to let government employees lose their paychecks over cuts in last year's budget that won't put a dent in our deficit.  Despite the lunacy of shutting down the government and derailing the economy over last year's budget, the Tea Party is unsurprisingly unswayed.

So it is with the economic health of the nation in mind that I implore John Boehner - who well remembers how the last government shutdown played out - as well as moderate Republicans and Democrats to agree on a budget with 30 billion worth of cuts and move forward.  America is going to suffer unnecessarily if the government shuts down, and there are far more important topics to discuss, most notably the long-term budget that actually matters.

Given that Paul Ryan has just unveiled a budget that would cut trillions over the next few decades and that at least attempts to tackle some of the real drivers of the deficit, it makes much more sense to work with that blueprint and try to perfect it rather than to nitpick over a much smaller amount of money.  Of course, when talking sense one should avoid mentioning the Tea Party, which is why for the good of the nation the Republican Party needs to step up and do what's best for our nation.  There are 30 billion dollars worth of cuts on the table.  Republicans need to take the deal.  After we get past this, we can start to fix the long-term issues, the ones that are important.

But until Boehner finds it within himself to stand up to the idiots in his caucus, we're going to find ourselves looking over the edge of a cliff.  And we won't even be looking over the edge of the cliff for much longer, soon, we'll just fall in.  Any significant shutdown will stifle economic growth and cause America to suffer, ironically this will happen in the name of economic growth.

So no matter who benefits, we know who is to blame and more importantly, we know will suffer...the people in the mirror.  For the sake of our country, John Boehner, unshackle yourself from the Tea Party and make the right choice.