The mainstream media would have you believe the Republicans and Democrats are preparing for a high-noon stand-off in front of the O.K. Corral. Both parties do seem to be playing into the narrative. The Republican-controlled House voted for the 42nd time to defund implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare,” this time the vote was part of a bill to keep the federal government operating. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Democrat-controlled “Senate will not pass any bill that defunds or delays Obamacare.” Cue the tumbleweed and western-themed suspense music.
Let’s assume for a minute that the Senate passes the funding bill that defunds the PPACA, what happens? Obama vetoes the bill and the Congress is back to debating how to move forward. Rueters reports, “If both houses fail to pass a bill funding the government, it could shutdown on October 1… Without prompt agreement in Congress on a new funding bill, agencies including the FBI, Education Department, Defense Department and Environmental Protection Agency would have to curtail many non-essential operations on October 1, the first day of the new fiscal year.”
My first question is: why is any government providing non-essential operations?
If one believes that the maximum role of government is to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; then the most any government should provide is courts, defense, and police. Anything else is non-essential and shouldn’t be provided by government. I can already hear the questions from those who support The State: What about the roads? What about the schools? And so on.
There are numerous examples of private roads in the United States to use as blueprints for other private roads. For most of human history schools were funded through voluntary means and/or tuition, there are still some colleges that offer free-tuition.
But I digress. Do you remember the last time the federal government shutdown? It actually happened twice during Bill Clinton’s Presidency. Rueters reported, “Much of the federal government was closed for five days in November 1995 and then from mid-December 1995 to early January 1996… About 800,000 federal workers were furloughed in November 1995; the next month, nearly 300,000 were furloughed and another nearly 500,000 worked without pay.” Unfortunately, the 535 members of Congress are exempt from being furloughed.
I don’t believe the federal government will shutdown on October 1 of this year, because I know that the two wings of the Republicratic Duopoly will come to an 11th hour agreement to continue funding the beast.