In the latest Congressional budget crisis, several Republicans have decided to oppose their own party's temporary budget proposal. As Tim posted several days ago, this proposal is a short-term extension so that Congress can have more time to plan for long-term spending plans.
The reasons cited for their opposition were that the current plan did not cut enough, did not cut their preferred programs (including Planned Parenthood and Obama's health care reform), and that they wanted to encourage long-term planning versus many short-term plans.
Democrats are also becoming more opposed to the measure, saying that the Republican proposal's cuts are too high. Several have also become worried about a second extension, noting that agencies would be unable to plan, causing a general slowdown of the government.
This is an outrage. This would only cause more harm, not good. A government shutdown is not beneficial for either party, as Americans have stated that they would blame both parties for any disruption. To be honest, I am very surprised that they would believe that this would cause any meaningful change. Can the Senate really create a good long-term budget in a few days? Going by how dysfunctional Congress is right now, the answer is very clearly no. And while I would agree that Congress needs to make progress in long-term planning and policy changes, Congress also needs to keep the government running, even if it is slower than ideal.
But what is particularly outrageous about this stalemate is that there already is some progress in the bill in the form of small budget cuts. There comes a point where Congressmen should just stop stalling for huge concessions when the other side obviously will not approve. Really, what is more efficient: many small cuts that are more easily passed, or a huge cut that will most assuredly not pass either the House or the Senate? In this increasingly polarized government, stalling for huge, improbable concessions from the opposing side will simply make Congress more dysfunctional. Sometimes, you just need to cut the losses and not always hold out for the most optimal situation.
Monday, March 14, 2011
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2 comments:
The question at the beginning of the year by Mr. Silton was a good one: "Is Congress deliberate or dysfunctional?" And my smartass reply was "It's deliberately dysfunctional." I stand by that now. Republicans seem to be jamming the system for their own political gain while they need to stop the kindergarten bickering and get over themselves and do what is best for the country. Same goes for the Dems when they are voted into the minority in the Senate eventually.
I agree with both of the above posters, but then again, this is the reality of politics. Small concessions attribute eventually to the loss of a political position in an atmosphere of polarity. And that result is unacceptable. We must take it into our own hands as we become voting adults to fix this polar atmosphere.
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