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| Government |
| Risk of American failure |
| 2013-10-16 |
| [Dawn] THE idea of bringing the government of the United States of America to its knees has a certain appeal in various parts of the world. Broadly speaking, though, the reasons for this are very different from the motivations that guide the hardcore conservatives who bear primary responsibility for driving the dysfunctionality that has been evident in Washington over the past couple of weeks. And it could get much worse unless tomorrow's deadline for raising the nation's debt ceiling is met. Negotiations were under way at the time of writing, and it seemed probable that some sort of agreement would be worked out to forestall a crunch that threatened not only to halt the US economic recovery but to undermine the intricately interconnected international financial system. Theoretically, that wouldn't necessarily be an undesirable outcome. It is not particularly difficult, after all, to picture global capitalism as an insatiable beast that invariably preys on the weak. But is there a short-term alternative other than complete chaos -- which, in many cases, would enhance the pain of the most vulnerable sections of society? In the American domestic context, the most disturbing implications of a default would be a potential inability to issue social security cheques or pay medicare bills. Somewhat perversely, that goes to the heart of the issues at stake in the congressional negotiations over the shutdown and the borrowing ceiling. An irrationally conservative core in the Republican caucus is determined to somehow kill the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, notwithstanding its approval by both houses of Congress and, just last year, its endorsement by the Supreme Court. Even in its initial form, the proposed law fell short of the universal healthcare provisions that have been the norm in most Western democracies for decades. Then it was further watered down, disqualifying the government from competing as a health insurer on an equal footing with private entities. The aim was to reduce the proportion of Americans who find themselves unable to pay their medical bills. The act also entailed the expansion of Medicaid, which offers health coverage of those too poor to afford insurance. But it seems two-thirds of those who would have been covered by this extension will be left out, as they happen to live in Republican-controlled states that have refused to participate in the programme -- despite the fact that it would be completely covered by the federal government for the first three years, and to the extent of at least 90pc thereafter. This sort of bloody-mindedness is one of the aspects of American exceptionalism that foreigners find hard to grasp. The naysayers cite the principle of individual liberty. But in most cases their understanding of the concept is convoluted. It encompasses the right to bear arms, never mind that the ubiquity of gun ownership leads to the periodic massacre of innocents. But it does not extend to the right to medical care for everyone who needs it. It could, of course, be argued that the US sustains similar hypocrisies on a worldwide scale, ostensibly supporting democratic trends but quietly slipping into bed with dictatorships wherever and whenever it suits its purposes to do so. It is also hard to ignore the fact that the opponents of big government in the US tend to shut their eyes to Washington's more egregious transgressions on this score. The revelations facilitated by Edward Snowden, for instance, about the scale of the National Security Agency's domestic spying operations have not prompted any Tea Party protests. Some commentators attribute the current impasse to the increasing degree of political polarisation in the US, which is a valid point. On any conventional scale, though, the divide is not between left and right so much as between the centre-right and the far right, between a degree of reason and complete irrationality, with the banner for the latter tendency being held up by fanatics such as Texan Republican senator Ted Cruz. It is not entirely surprising that Cruz and others of his ilk are being referred to as Banana Republicans or being compared with jacket wallahs. What's scary, though, is the degree to which Tea Party stalwarts are able to intimidate the Republicans as a whole. It is widely presumed that were the House of Representatives speaker John It is not pronounced 'Boner!'Boehner ... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans... to introduce a resolution lifting the debt ceiling and ending the government shutdown, it would readily pass, notwithstanding the House's Republican majority -- based more on the gerrymandering of congressional districts than on the popular vote -- because many Republicans are wary of the Tea Party's extremism. But Boehner has been reluctant to do so for fear of igniting the wrath of his party's Taliban tendency. The latter, meanwhile, has been so adamant about defunding or postponing the Affordable Care Act because it realises that once it is implemented, it would become much harder to oppose. As this week began, both sides were reportedly anticipating a negative market reaction, in the hope that it would make their adversaries more amenable to a compromise. Yet the markets remained steady in the expectation of an imminent deal. Although there are better than ever chances of some sort of accommodation being hammered out at the eleventh hour, it is likely to be a time-constrained modus vivendi. If so, the prospect of a US default will rear its head once more a few weeks hence, and the shutdown may only be temporarily suspended. Voters, who polls suggest are more inclined to blame the current impasse on the Republicans, will have the opportunity to offer a verdict in the November 2014 midterm elections. Should the status quo indefinitely persist, though, the international perception of the US as a potentially failed state can only grow. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 The can has been kicked down the road once again. Only this time the next fight in congress will be even tougher and the stakes even higher. FORWARD to the Detroitification of America! |
| Posted by: Airandee 2013-10-16 21:05 |
| #6 We fought a Revolutionary War with the Brits over taxation without representation which is basically what we have now. Our government has been a clusterf&*$ for some time now; an elitist mutual admiration society consisting of basically one party--the liberal (or radical) democrats and the rhino republicans being in charge. Neither of these groups work to the benefit of the American people. They seem to care only about creating a cushy job for themselves and re-election. We really need term limits to break-up this structure. I don't know how these limits should be created--maybe on the basis of total time at the trough. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2013-10-16 20:00 |
| #5 Anybody doubt that if not funded soon, Obama will make the Shutdown look like a party. The NPS will close all parks, everywhere, no checks will go out to anyone, while the gubbamint continues to rake in the coin, while they decide what is the correct priority for paying the bills. Lessee - Air Force One and the golf course would come first... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2013-10-16 11:56 |
| #4 THE idea of bringing the government of the United States of America to its knees Isn't it what happened in 2008? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-10-16 10:28 |
| #3 I'm still optimistic. It is better to fight something that you know is wrong and then later when it fails say 'we tried but they villified!' than to let everything fall to pot and say 'we knew but felt you had to suffer before we'd do anything.'. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2013-10-16 10:27 |
| #2 Basically, the Permanent Party Propaganda Machine is forcing a return to the choice of King or Parliament. Too many want a King with the facade of a 'republic'. Go ahead and panic. IIRC at this time out from the last election the PPPM was reporting that the one was ahead by double digits by their polls and the election in 12 or 13 months was just a formality. Who was panicking those last couple of months? BTW - hardcore conservatives who bear primary responsibility for driving the dysfunctionality that has been evident in Washington over the past couple of weeks. As opposed to your Imans in the Taliban territories who push death and intolerance in your little region? The actual body count seems rather higher over there. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-10-16 08:35 |
| #1 The Stupid Party has more than earned its nickname during this clusterfarg. Better for the House to have passed a "clean CR" - with spending remaining set at sequester levels - and then sit down, pop some popcorn, crack open a couple of brewskis and watch the Obamacare rollout disaster unfold. Even the MSM couldn't have kept that covered up for too long. But noooo...the Trunks had to pretend that they could draw lines in the sand, with their principled stands finally getting honest media coverage and swinging public opinion their way. Got news for you, guys - the Low Information Voters haven't discovered a Tocquevillesque passion for public affairs in the past eleven months. They're still mostly ignorant and mostly spoonfed their political opinions via the corrupt news/entertainment media. And now the Trunks are getting their testicles handed to them by a relentless shitstorm of negative media coverage and disastrous polling (yeah, I know the polls are rigged and front-loaded with Quislingrats and government employees. Like knowing that made a difference for our side last November??), they're going to have to swallow a CR deal that allows the 'Rats to throw away the sequester cuts and go wild with the credit card yet again, and they're setting up a damn strong likelihood of the 'Rats retaking the House next year. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2013-10-16 01:46 |