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A note about American politics.
Apr. 8th, 2011 08:28 pmIt's no secret that I am politically aware, and I like politics.
If you don't, that's absolutely fine. I don't expect you to read this, but I need to rant for a moment.
America runs out of money at midnight.
Yes, you read that sentence correctly. We RUN OUT OF MONEY at midnight. Our government will shutdown (federal workers will not be allowed to work, certain departments will close, trash in Washington, DC will not be collected, etc.) if Congress and the President cannot reach a budget deal by midnight.
ETA: The most frustrating thing that could (probably will) come out of this? Soldiers will not get their paychecks on time. They're considered essential (for obvious reasons), so they'll continue to work and earn money, but for a lot of military families on tight budgets, trying to feed kids and stuff...this is a very real problem.
[Nerd moment: The budget actually expires in September of every year, but to continue funding, Congress passes temporary measures with expiration dates. It usually takes this long (about 6 months) for them to even come close to an acceptable bill. The appropriations bill (the federal budget) is the only bill that Congress has to pass, and as a result of that, people take advantage of that and attach all kinds of crazy policy initiatives that have nothing to do with money. And then there are riders, which are basically conditions that pertain to the funding. And then there's the actual dollars and cents. SO. There's a lot of things to talk about. And then the President has to review it. The budget is literally THOUSANDS of pages.]
Right now, the party that controls Congress is reviewing the latest offer.
Basically, I think everyone is acting like babies. Compromise is a beautiful thing.
(Oh, PS: If you think this is like, super-rare, it's not. The government shutdown last during the presidency of Bill Clinton. It's not really surprising that this is happening considering that two different parties control the legislature and the presidency.)
ETA 2: A deal was reached, but it was literally at the 11th hour. There still might be a minor shutdown because of how close it was, but they have a budget deal for the rest of the fiscal year. So, yay, I guess.
This deal is like the largest spending cut in history, I think. No matter what, it's big. And it has yet to be determined how this will affect party politics and elections for both sides. One thing is certain, no one came out looking particularly good here. (Though, in my opinion, the Republicans came out worse simply because it was their in-fighting about the numbers that held the process up.)
If you don't, that's absolutely fine. I don't expect you to read this, but I need to rant for a moment.
America runs out of money at midnight.
Yes, you read that sentence correctly. We RUN OUT OF MONEY at midnight. Our government will shutdown (federal workers will not be allowed to work, certain departments will close, trash in Washington, DC will not be collected, etc.) if Congress and the President cannot reach a budget deal by midnight.
ETA: The most frustrating thing that could (probably will) come out of this? Soldiers will not get their paychecks on time. They're considered essential (for obvious reasons), so they'll continue to work and earn money, but for a lot of military families on tight budgets, trying to feed kids and stuff...this is a very real problem.
[Nerd moment: The budget actually expires in September of every year, but to continue funding, Congress passes temporary measures with expiration dates. It usually takes this long (about 6 months) for them to even come close to an acceptable bill. The appropriations bill (the federal budget) is the only bill that Congress has to pass, and as a result of that, people take advantage of that and attach all kinds of crazy policy initiatives that have nothing to do with money. And then there are riders, which are basically conditions that pertain to the funding. And then there's the actual dollars and cents. SO. There's a lot of things to talk about. And then the President has to review it. The budget is literally THOUSANDS of pages.]
Right now, the party that controls Congress is reviewing the latest offer.
Basically, I think everyone is acting like babies. Compromise is a beautiful thing.
(Oh, PS: If you think this is like, super-rare, it's not. The government shutdown last during the presidency of Bill Clinton. It's not really surprising that this is happening considering that two different parties control the legislature and the presidency.)
ETA 2: A deal was reached, but it was literally at the 11th hour. There still might be a minor shutdown because of how close it was, but they have a budget deal for the rest of the fiscal year. So, yay, I guess.
This deal is like the largest spending cut in history, I think. No matter what, it's big. And it has yet to be determined how this will affect party politics and elections for both sides. One thing is certain, no one came out looking particularly good here. (Though, in my opinion, the Republicans came out worse simply because it was their in-fighting about the numbers that held the process up.)
