Another Political Pissing Contest

As we close out the first full week of the government shutdown, there are all kinds of emotional reactions around the country. I can certainly understand the outrage from the people who are directly affected by this nonsense. After all, many of these folks are the sole providers of their family and losing their income for even a brief period can be tough.

I've heard arguments and seen the finger-pointing from both political parties. Hey, if it makes you feel better to side up with either of these groups, so be it. But the bottom line is that they're all politicians. And frankly, I'm tired of being a puppet for these assholes. Regardless of your affiliation, how many times have these guys let all of us down? The latest government shutdown is just the latest example.

Let's try to examine what's really happening here.....

First off, let's address the budget. Every year, Congress has to agree on a budget to fund the government. Of course, the government works on a fiscal year which begins on October 1. Although these jerk-offs had all year to come up with a solution, they still couldn't get it done.

Now, there's a pissing contest going on between the Democrats and Republicans primarily over the funding of the Affordable Healthcare Act (aka Obamacare). The Republican controlled House of Representatives has used the budget crisis as an opportunity to defund or delay Obamacare. Of course, the Democrat controlled Senate supports Obamacare and that's where pissing begins. Here's the lowdown:

1. The House passes a budget bill (including a few Obamacare amendments) and then sends it over to the Senate for approval. 
2. The Senate looks at it and says, "Whoa, Nelly! Nice try, boys!" And then they proceed to strip off the Obamacare amendments and send it back to the House for another try.
3. The political tennis match continues back and forth while almost a million Americans wonder when they'll get their next paycheck.

Republicans will say that Obamacare is an inevitable trainwreck and this might be the only legitimate shot to put the brakes on it. And the Democrats will point out that Obamacare is already in place. So, why is the GOP senselessly delaying the budget fix by using it as a political bargain chip? The truth of the matter is that either side could resolve this mess today. However, they won't because they would rather toe the party line than do what's right. That's the way politics work these days....

I just want to say a couple of things about Obamacare. Whether it turns out to be a good or a disaster, the whole thing was sold to us by Democratic sweethearts like President Obama and Nancy Pelosi on the premise that it was not a tax. However, on the verge of being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, it passed only because it was indeed a tax. John Roberts cast the deciding "coup de grace", essentially blindsiding the Republican opponents of Obamacare. Politics is a bitch, huh?

We elect our representatives because we assume that they're smart enough to make the decisions that will benefit all of us. We put a boatload of trust in these people. How long will we continue to believe this bullshit? Politicians have two primary objectives: Getting elected and getting re-elected. I'm pretty well convinced that they couldn't give a rat's ass about you or me.....

kw