The shutdown process is as simple as it is cynical. While much of the government, like Homeland Security, keeps going for the duration, any resulting inconvenience will be pointedly inflicted on the public. It's like waterboarding the taxpayers, until they cry "uncle" and give up one more bit of control over their wallets for the privilege of getting their money unfrozen and their debts increased. What could go wrong?Megan McArdle despite her long career as a pundit never quite "got it" until she looked at the Detroit pension plan. McCardle wondered why the pension trustees were handing out "bonuses" to the recipients when all investment logic demanded that the funds in their care be reinvested. Being a logical and decent person McArdle cast around for an explanation without success.
[...]
Then she got it, like a light coming on in her head. The pension trustees were draining the pension because they were so sure, so absolutely certain that the taxpayers would have to refill the pot they felt safe helping themselves to whatever they wanted.
h/t Maz2
Only non-essential workers are being told to stay or go home. Which begs the question - if the government is still functioning despite these "non-essential" workers being at home, why are they ever needed in the first place?
Obama is using health care in America to create yet another level of government pigs when the are already broke and there are only 50 or so people in government that are trying to sop him. America is so SCREWED.
Question is...did she ever ask herself why she was stupid? No? Didn't think so. Just another leftard trying to figure out a different way to steal money from the middle class.
The prime directive for any government worker, top or bottom, is to survive. Since their income comes from taxpayers the on going PR is how essential they are to the smooth operation of the economy and social welfare. I am sure this has been going on back to the caves when shaman discovered they could live by convincing others to support them.
This process is a double edged sword IMO. It does take some brains to manipulate a situation like this. What society requires is a tough minded political process that is capable of reigning in excesses. That process has been failing ever since WW II. The GOP is at or maybe passed the point of relevancy by crying 'wolf' so many times and then capitulating to progressives. Progressives who want to fight over how the pie is sliced rather than having a vision on how to make it larger.
So the EPA and other regulatory bodies are shut down, I see the economy of the USA finely recovering from the recession now.
So cut military spending by half or more. They would still be outspending the Chinese by more than double.
Rebuild the military as something that can be quickly scaled back to size. (Not necessarily the air force or the navy carrier groups... these are highly specialized units. But the marines and the army could be quickly brought back to full size and beyond in the event of a crisis. Just like they did during WWII.
But that won't happen, because Americans, particularly Republicans, are soooooo militaristic that they would starve their own kids (or somebody else's) just to have 10X as many guns as the next guy.
That's messed up.
But whatever... the GOP will most likely be destroyed over this little mess they've created. With luck, they will indeed be flushed down the toilet and Obama can get to the task of rebuilding the country without their constant interference. Just a reminder... they were on their way to paying off the debt by 2012 before GWB came along and made a mess of things. Now it's going to take another decade to get the deficit under control and probably a lot longer to begin paying off the debt.
Have another drink of Koolaid.
Of course this was inevitable. The legislature can cut overall funding, but it's the administration decides who and what gets cut. Wait for the next shoe to drop. There's going to be a big difference between Republican and Democrat constituencies as to where the cuts happen. The gerrymandering comes next.
Then there's this piece of stupidity from John.
"But the marines and the army could be quickly brought back to full size and beyond in the event of a crisis. Just like they did during WWII."
Obviously you've no understanding of the modern military. It's been a come-as-you-are war planning since the mid-1950s. Modern militaries are far too complex to be mobilized in anything less than years.
And this:
"...and Obama can get to the task of rebuilding the country without their constant interference."
How can that be, when he's busily dismantling it? How can he, when he's the first president in US history to be utterly unable to organize a bipartisan coalition in Congress because of his own intransigence and stupidity? How can he, when he spends more time playing golf and playing hooky from office than any other president in history?
The fiscal situation of the United States of America has been deteriorating, at first slowly, then faster & faster, since at least the mid-1970s. It is a problem to which both Democrat & Republican Congresses and Presidents have contributed. It has reached the point which all but ensures a collapse of the American dollar and/or economy in probably no more than 5 to 10 years. Quite possibly much sooner. There is really nothing that either party can do about it now.
John, you are nothing more than a foolish Democrat spouting moronic talking points who understands nothing of what he speaks. You could draw a complete ZERO through the defense budget of the United States and they would STILL be in deficit. That is the scale of the fiscal problems they (refuse to) face. Your precious Obama has done NOTHING to solve the problem; he's happy to pour gas on the fire and burn America to the ground, so it can be rebuilt as just another socialist pit.
Ultimately I expect the Republicans to fold because their party leaders have no stomach for a real fight. It won't make any difference to the final outcome.
"...But the marines and the army could be quickly brought back to full size and beyond in the event of a crisis. Just like they did during WWII. ..."
No, you can't. Things have changed since WWII. In fact, things had changed a lot since WWII when I was an infantry officer in the 1980s, and things have changed since the 1980s.
But some things will stay the same. Obama has increased the deficit by more than everyone ever before, and you are still blaming Bush. Did you ever meet Ronald Reagan? He seems to have known you. At least he talked about you - something about "It's not the things they don't know, it's the things they think they know that just aren't so." As vast as your ignorance of how things really work is, John, it is not half so much of a problem as your mistaken belief that you are intelligent and knowledgeable. Funny you think that line about drinking Kool-Aid is about other people
Sorry guys. Nobody needs a military that large. At half the size, (not to mention the nuclear deterrent), the US is a match for any collection of nations many times over. And that's forgetting the fact that it's allies with most of the other large militaries. The level of spending is insane. (Funny how you guys don't view that as socialist, but you do feel fire departments and healthcare are.)
And this bit referring to Obama: "When he's the first president in US history to be utterly unable to organize a bipartisan coalition in Congress because of his own intransigence and stupidity?"
My god... how deeply deranged you are to not see how he's dealing with a collection of far right boobs that would disagree with him on the colour of the sky. (Not to mention his birthplace). The American people have rejected the right. The elected Obama by a significant margin. The elected a Democratic Senate, and the House is held by a slim GOP majority. It's they who won't cooperate trying to stick these measures onto the budget bill, and everybody sees it.
That's why they're doomed come next election. They've just sealed their fate.
The thing that American's should be aware of is the "shutdown" affects only 900,000 non essential government workers - now if 900.000 non essential feds on the payroll doesn't give you a clue as to the obscene waste/bloat of big government, then you deserve it - good and hard.
The purpose of an elected government is to hold the bureaucracy in check. This is done through policy and an demanding policy be followed with consequences. Obviously this is not being done and the steady decline to anarchy and then to a dictator to bring accountability to the process.
Hopefully the sense of the rule of law somehow hangs on either through acceptance of common law convention or a constitution remains. Otherwise the road of establishing personal accountability and from this personal rights becomes very long.
Unfortunately the coattails of the accountable always seem to bring out the sycophants and and the less honourable. Cheers;
"...But the marines and the army could be quickly brought back to full size and beyond in the event of a crisis. Just like they did during WWII. ..."
TheTooner, exactly. What John said was somewhat the case in WW II and more so in WW I or before. Even then competent officers and NCOs took years to train. It is not longer possible that way because of more expertise needed to man the equipment and weaponry of today. It takes years to train the people needed.
Also, "With luck, they will indeed be flushed down the toilet and Obama can get to the task of rebuilding the country without their constant interference." No doubt Obama's task would be even easier if the Republicans were totally done away with. This is what The One would like, as then Alinsky's agenda could be implemented unimpeded. This comment is something Hitler, Lenin, and Stalin would have seconded.
It might be appropriate for peterj's comment of last evening was brought forward to this thread at this time.
Furthermore it is unfortunate that more journalists like Megan McArdle do not see the light go on. The media is as much to blame for the financial mess the US is in as the politicians and bureaucracy. Regan was the last decent president the US had, and the last one, an Alinsky puppet, is the worst.
The financial ruin of the US will make it easier for a leftist demagog to rile the masses to the point of revolution, quiet or violent, which they so desperately want, as evidenced by Alinsky, Klein, et al.
Just watching on SunTv Obama speaking in reaction to the "shut down". I have been paying attention to the US political for fifty and have never just rabid rhetoric in demonizing the other main US party.
Ho-hum.
The Clinton shutdowns lasted a month all told. This will last a fortnight at most. The debt ceiling, if nothing happens in the interim, will be breached October 17, and DC defaults. Either Obama and Congress reach a deal to make sure the people bankrolling both parties continue to get their theft bonds serviced on time by then, or the banksters will have them replaced very quickly indeed. Soldiers unpaid for long quickly become deserters at best and mutineers at worst.
If the Tea Party are still raising a stink about their blessed Constitution the evening of the 16th, they'll be dragged out of the Capitol in handcuffs if necessary, votes will be taken in their absence, and that will be that. The bankster-controlled government in Greece just dragged the Golden Dawn leadership off to jail. What chance do those in the Tea Party who haven't been turned by the banksters think they have?
In the meantime, soldiers and FBI men will be going unpaid and welfare cheques to Obama's base will stop going out. Trust me, that would not be happening if anybody planned to let this go on for very long.
Can't drink any kool-aid, looks like you lapped up the last drop John.
Government shutdown?
They'll never miss it.
@ John: While you make a few points worth considering, I can't let this one go bye:
"...But the marines and the army could be quickly brought back to full size and beyond in the event of a crisis. Just like they did during WWII. ..."
The United States was very lucky to have the British holding the line in WWII. After the "War to end wars, (i.e., WWI), the U.S. demobilized extensively. Even though the U.S. started RE-building their military in 1938, by 1941 they were still very much unprepared. British soldiers fighting in 1942 in Africa with the first of the U.S. troops deployed (4 years later) thought very little of U.S. troops and with some justification at that. In today's world it is even more complex. You can't simply take someone off the farm, give them a rifle or an airplane, and make them an effective soldier, airman, or sailor.
And this statement is just pure ignorance:
"But that won't happen, because Americans, particularly Republicans, are soooooo militaristic that they would starve their own kids (or somebody else's) just to have 10X as many guns as the next guy."
Democrats are every bit as much (or more) invested in the expensive high tech weapons programs (F35, mammoth aircraft carrier, etc) as the Republicans. That's where the REAL money is going. It's jobs for the state they represent and they don't want to let that go for very obvious reasons. Don't take my word for it. Information is available.
"What John said was somewhat the case in WW II and more so in WW I or before."
For us on the other side of the Atlantic, yes, for the nations bordering Germany, no.
WWII is a good object lesson about what happens when your army isn't large enough to deter military adventurism. Hitler invaded neighbouring countries precisely because his military was overwhelmingly superior.
Yeah we took years to put together forces to evict and defeat Hitler, but the nations he took over went through hell as soon as they were invaded.
Today force can be projected a lot further than to just the bordering neighbour nation by some militaries.
John's statement that China only spends half on their People's Liberation Army, the largest military in the world and second largest employer on the planet(after the U.S. government bureaucracy which is only getting larger under ObamaCare) is only a guess based on information from an unelected communist government.
Hey John, you do know that the expenditures of the People's Republic of China government are not in the public realm and therefor are not subject to fact checking, yes?
"British soldiers fighting in 1942 in Africa ..."
BritishCommonwealth soldiers fighting in 1942 in Africa ...FIFY
"You can't simply take someone off the farm, give them a rifle or an airplane, and make them an effective soldier, airman, or sailor."
1. There are plenty of civilians in the US who can shoot better than plenty of paper-pushers who wear camouflage.
2. Sweden, Switzerland and Israel do not maintain large standing armies.
Going into WWII France had a large standing army; in fact they had more divisions than the Germans. Yet France was overrun. Bu contrast, Switzerland did not have a large standing army, yet it was never invaded even though the Axis surrounded it from all sides.
John, you don't seem to like Republicans but of course you know that Abolition, Free speech, Women’s suffrage were all causes the Republican Party adopted early on. So, too, were reducing the size of government, streamlining bureaucracy, and returning power to individual states. With a core belief in the primacy of individuals, the Republican Party, since its inception, has been at the forefront of the fight for individuals’ rights in opposition to a large, intrusive government. You like the Democrats and know how much of their history ?
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/09/04/democrats-airbrush-pro-slavery-civil-war-and-segregation-from-their-history/
The average lifespan for a democracy is about 200 years or until the entitlement mentality destroys it. The cool-aid you mention is what you have swallowed too much of.
John, this can be found in many places but it's a nice abbreviated version to accommodate your limited attention span. Think about it.
http://springfieldhome.com/tag/lifespan-of-democracies/
C'mon John , let's debate this. You always come on strong and then leave with your tail between your legs. Debate is what SDA is all about. Tell me why you think I'm wrong. Inquiring minds want to know.