I’m sure that you have heard by now that the government shut down beginning on Monday night. And yet, we’re all still here; we’re still going to school and moving about our business as if we have a government. So, what’s really going on?
I asked real college students their questions about the government shutdown and am answering them for you here.
Why did the government shutdown?
The reason for the shutdown is actually fairly simple to explain. Congress (the House and Senate) was in the midst of approving the government-funding bill, which essentially determines where the government will spend its money.
This is a fairly routine process, as it happens every year. However, this year, the Republicans attempted to use the funding bill to stop funding for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The Democrats refused to accept the funding bill with the Obamacare opposition in it, and the Republicans refused to remove it.
Has this ever happened before?
The most recent government shutdown was in 1996 under President Clinton, reported Russell Goldman of ABC News. That shutdown lasted for almost a month.
However, out of the 17 government shutdowns the country has seen, they all have one thing in common: they ended.
Doesn’t Congress argue all the time? Why does this cause the government to shut down?
Yes, the nature of our democracy is that the Democrats and Republicans are typically at odds. However, this time they are at odds regarding how to spend federal money – which is used to pay federal employees. The shutdown officially went into effect on the evening of Monday, September 30. Since then, 800,000 government workers have been on furlough or unpaid temporary leave.
Certain services such as mail delivery, tax collection and the military have been deemed “necessary” and will continue to receive funding during this time, according to ABC News.
Monique Tribbett, a 45-year-old IT contractor in the Department of Labor is urging people to take a stand. “These people need paychecks; they gotta eat,” Tribbett said. “I’m trying to get people to protest. If we all went, right now, to the steps of the Capitol building and protested, then they might start listening to us. But people don’t want to stand together.”
Whose fault is this?
This can’t truly be blamed on one person. It encompasses a lot of opinions and political history that is too long to explain here.
However, a lot of people are pointing fingers at House Speaker John Boehner. Boehner was the one to propose the bill that defunded Obamacare. However, whether or not the actual shutdown is entirely one individual’s fault is highly unlikely. However, the fact that his name will always be associated with the 2013 government shutdown is highly likely.
“This is what he’ll be remembered for,” said former Rep. Steven LaTourette, a moderate Republican from Ohio and longtime confidante of the speaker.
So what now?
The shutdown could end in a number of ways. The Democrats are hoping that the Republicans will remove the Obamacare limitation so the funding bill can be passed, and the Republicans are essentially hoping for the opposite.
There are a number of other financial factors in this situation, but it is safe to assume that all Americans are hoping that this is resolved as soon as possible.