A few weeks ago, the United States government narrowly avoided a shutdown.
Thanks to the great state of bipartisanship, Congress was in a gridlock over spending.
The issues were primarily federal funding for Planned Parenthood, alternative energy sources and health care. Luckily, we’ve moved past that crisis with short-term spending bills and agreements over the budget.
The good news: Planned Parenthood will continue to receive federal funding. Although the only reason they risked losing anything was because Tea Partiers absurdly accused them of using federal money for abortions. Most of the programs Obama was pushing made it through the ringer.
The bad news: Another crisis looms that may yield a similar result.
In mid-May, the U.S. government is projected to hit its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. What does that mean? If we hit our limit (and don’t increase the debt limit), the government may have to stop paying for veteran’s benefits, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Depending on how bad the situation is, government employees could lose their salaries and federally supported organizations would not survive.
I’m not so concerned about the economic situation. The debt ceiling will be raised. It has been in the past, and there is no alternative.
What worries me is Obama. Don’t get me wrong, I love Barack. His vision is impressive and I wish he was doing more. I feel that he’s caught in a battle to keep his moderates/Republicans and his liberals. It is a very fine line to walk and he isn’t doing enough to keep the left happy.
Obama is the head of state; it is time he put his foot down. The Republicans have been playing the bipartisan nonsense game, arguing that Obama isn’t doing enough to appease their side. Really?
Where was this argument when Bush was in office?
The Democrats won the presidential election and it is time Obama start exercising that influence.
Natasha Tomchin is a freshman majoring in history and public relations. She may be contacted at ntomchin@themiamihurricane.com.