

Editorial: Shutdown a prelude to greater crisis

7:59 PM, Sep. 30, 2013  |  Comments
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What's happening in the nation's capital this week isn't the culmination of an ideological divide, but rather a desperate assault in an ideological war from which Congressional Republicans have no intention of retreating. The biggest mistake the president could make at this juncture is calculating that sanity, responsibility or the preponderance of public opinion will somehow save the day.

The temporary shutdown of the federal government, while stupid and incalculably insensitive to the people whose lives it will disrupt, is nothing relative to the looming catastrophe should Congress allow the United States to default on its debt, an event that seems more and more likely.

Although we've been close to this precipice, we've no precedent against which to measure the consequences for Congress' refusal to raise the debt ceiling. As Derek Thompson wrote for The Atlantic:

"The truly scary thing about going over the debt cliff isn't what we think will happen-a scramble to prioritize payments, delayed checks to groups like veterans and senior citizens, and angry, confused investors.

"The truly scary thing is that we actually have no idea what will happen. We don't know if it's even possible for the government to prioritize payments to millions of different clients."

In other words, failure to raise the debt ceiling would without question wipe out the nation's economic recovery, but it could be much worse.

A number of legal scholars have suggested the President Barack Obama has the constitutional authority under the Section Four of the Fourteenth Amendment to simply ignore the debt limit, a suggestion that the White House has rejected.

Obama's reticence is understandable, but the House may leave him no option short of capitulation, which would be a betrayal of the millions of uninsured Americans who today began shopping for coverage plans.

Given the stakes, you'd expect that Republicans would feel the gravity of their actions over the weekend. Instead, they were absolutely giddy.

Members of right wing of the Republican party are well aware of the backlash that occurred after the last government shutdown; they simply don't care.

We can only hope that the specter of economic calamity will rouse them from their fantasy.

Defense News

Today's inability to govern that inflicts continuous uncertainty in the form of sequestration or continuing resolutions constitutes perhaps the greatest strategic risk to the nation.

This inability also prevents thoughtful planning, worries allies and telegraphs weakness to potential enemies.

While the Pentagon would like more money, leaders realize deep defense cuts are here to stay. All they ask for is enough certainty and flexibility to plan wisely.

For that to happen, the public must exert pressure on those politicians who continue to believe that playing chicken with the nation's finances is an acceptable political tactic.

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The New York Times

Delaying the health law by a year, supported by all but two House Republicans, would prevent 11 million uninsured people from getting coverage in 2014 and raise premiums for those buying coverage in the individual insurance market. The real goal is not to delay but to destroy health reform by making it appear unworkable, in hopes that the public will not see the affordable premiums that will be available on the new health insurance exchanges where people can shop for plans starting Tuesday.

- Read more:

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