Budget Extremists Unforeseen by America's Founding Fathers (Polityka, Poland)
"The Founding Fathers didn't anticipate that their
descendants would one day prove to be incapable of compromise. ... The game, led
by a radical wing of Republicans, often referred to as the 'Tea Party,' is
becoming increasingly dangerous. If the United States were a small economy, politicians
like this would only be harming themselves with their inability to compromise.
Unfortunately, the obstinacy on the part of Republicans could have implications
for us all."
For now,
Americans have no budget, and soon they may not have the money to pay off their
debts. The global superpower turns out to be a state incapable of managing
itself. That’s not the America her creators had in mind.
The
Founding Fathers didn't want their new, democratic country turned into a
dictatorship, so they created a complex system of "checks and
balances" within various institutions. Their goal was not to paralyze the
country, but the Founding Fathers didn't anticipate that their descendants
would one day prove to be incapable of compromise. The polarization of the
American political scene has led to a situation, such that its participants
cannot be induced to concede even in the face of drastic consequences. The
financial crisis we are now seeing in the U.S. is actually a political crisis,
and employees of federal institutions have become hostages to the battle
between a Republican Party faction and President Obama.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
At
stake in this struggle is reform of the health care system, considered by Obama
as the most important achievement of his presidency, and by conservatives as an
attack on citizen freedom. Obama has support of the Senate, and of course a
year ago, he won the presidential election, which Republicans to a large extent
made into a referendum on health care reform. Yet opponents of the president don't
want to come to terms with their failure. They still control the House of
Representatives, and in the American system of “checks and balances,” both houses
are equally important, and both need to support a bill before it becomes law.
For
now, the first casualty of this war is next year’s budget. A number of
institutions have to close, with 800,000 Americans sent on unpaid leave. But
that isn't the end of this superpower’s problems. By mid-October, the country's
debt will reach the limit allowed by law. If it is not raised by both houses of
Congress, the United States will no longer be able to service its debt, which
amounts to a formal declaration of bankruptcy. The consequences of this are not
really known. Nor is it known how global markets will react, what will happen
to the dollar, or who will then want to buy U.S. bonds.
The
game, led by a radical wing of Republicans, often referred to as the “Tea Party,”
is becoming increasingly dangerous. If the United States were a small economy, politicians
like this would only be harming themselves with their inability to compromise.
Unfortunately, the obstinacy on the part of Republicans could have implications
for us all, because the slower the United States grows because of this
paralysis, the worse the economic situation will be in other parts of the
world. Problems in American quickly strike fear in the hearts of investors, and
this could cause them to pull out of counties under development, such as
Poland. That is why over the next few days we have to anxiously monitor developments
in Washington. Hopefully, in the end, common sense will prevail over political partisanship.
*Cesar Kowanda has been Polityka economy
correspondent since 2006, seeking to reconcile the demands of economic history
with macroeconomic passions, and with a special focus on transport issues.
