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Again. Because shutdown.
The US Congress has passed a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government running an extra week.
It will now go to the White House for the president’s signature, and will buy Congress time to reach a deal to fund the government until September.
It came just hours before a funding deadline expired, threatening a second government shutdown in four years.
Republicans were forced to make several concessions, the latest on funding for so-called Obamacare.
A government shutdown would close national parks and monuments, lay off federal employees and delay tax refund payments.
The last shutdown, in 2013, lasted for 17 days.
There was a time, long, long ago, when Congress used to appropriate money for an entire year at a time. Now it’s a chunk here, a chunk there, one week, three weeks, four months, your dollar. The word “incompetent” comes to mind.
The real reason the pols fear a shutdown is that, should one happen and go on too long, the people might realize just how little they needed or missed the government. They can’t have that. And they can’t act responsible. So they kick the can.
The only downside I see to a temporary shutdown is the closing of the Parks. And those, I can tell you from experience, are still accessible. No force field goes up around them. They’re just much, much quieter. Kind of nice.
It would be nice if Trump would veto this one-week measure. He could use it as a “teaching moment” for the idiots on the Hill, maybe for others. Go ahead and shut her down. That won’t happen though.
The can shall be kicked. Again. And then, again later. And again. A day may come when it will be harder to kick or the kicking won’t help. Not that the pols care. Or that most of you notice.
The Times Picayune.
A better approach might be for Congress to leave the can alone and kick the bucket.
