In previous stories we've asked who the American people will blame if the federal government shuts down. As usual, political observers disagree and point back to the last shutdown as some sort of road map.The National Journal's Matthew Cooper says no matter who is to blame—President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner or all of the above—the failure will be shared by us all, many of whom will feel the lack of certain services if an agreement isn't reached before midnight Friday.From the National Journal:President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, took their offices with the promise of reconciliation and productivity. Instead, the government of the most powerful nation on earth is about to run out of money and shut down, putting thousands out of work and shutting down everything from military pay to the National Zoo.
How did it—this incompetence—get this bad? After all, the fight over about $7 billion in differences in this year's budget is about .02 percent of the $3.5 trillion federal budget. It's like a family making $100,000 falling apart over $20. And then there's the fighting over intractable issues like abortion, as if either party was about to renounce long-held philosophies and faiths.
The countdown to shutdown continues.