Will the U.S. Government be shutting down this weekend? In a bitter stalemate between Republican leaders and the White House, the answer may just be YES!
President Obama met with Congressional leaders on Wednesday night, announcing that the 90-minute discussion helped to “narrow the issues” that are outstanding, but regrettably was not enough to reach a budget breakthrough. A total government shut down would create an immediate spending freeze. This means that all national parks and attractions would close, and many government workers, including the men and women of the U.S. military, would go unpaid.
Mr. Obama made it clear that he and Vice-President Biden have not been able to bridge the divide between House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The president said the two sides would “work through the night” to try and reach a deal that could avert a shutdown of the federal government on Saturday, when the current budget expires.
“In the morning, I will check in with the respective staffs,” Mr. Obama said. “If we haven’t made progress we are going to go at it again.”
"A pox on BOTH parties."Matt Miller – Washington Post: "Ryan vs Obama – Is that all there is?" By pretending, moreover, that we can retire the baby boomers without raising overall taxes (his original and continuing sin), Ryan disingenuously betrays his assertion that the American people are ready for "honest talks."In addition, the way his budget flatlines Medicaid (via block grants) while nearly doubling Medicare spending in the next decade seems to cynically distinguish between the poor folks who’ll never vote Republican and the seniors the GOP desperately hopes to woo.The bottom line is that there remains a huge void in the debate. President Obama punted on long-term debt and deficits, while pretending that his modest new investments in areas such as education are enough to “win the future.” They’re not, though he plainly hopes they’re enough to win him reelection. Now, speaking for his party, Paul Ryan has offered a plan that… Read more »