Shutdown exposes government bloat
Jenny Beth Martin
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The message of the Tea Party Patriots from the beginning of discussions over this year’s budget was simply to delay funding of Obamacare. Our mantra was to defund Obamacare, but fund the government. The shutdown has shown Americans two key things.
A continuing resolution,s passed by the House, would have kept the government open while providing individuals relief from Obamacare’s mandate that they buy insurance.
We know, as do Congress and the president, that Obamacare is not ready. Let’s do for the American people what President Obama did for his big business friends.
Much of the responsibility for the shutdown rests with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.,) for his refusal to consider a continuing resolution.
The shutdown has shown Americans two key things.
One is that an estimated 17% of the government is technically shut down, apparently for reasons of being deemed non-essential. This raises the legitimate question of why taxpayers are burdened with paying for a government in which only 83% of federal functions are necessary in a shutdown.
The other key takeaway of this closure is that Americans are seeing how the executive branch seeks to govern with the remaining 83% of government that is still functioning. It provides a remarkable study in governance.
There is no shortage of creative edicts from this administration regarding enforcement of this shutdown.
Roads and parking lots adjacent to private property that previously required virtually no federal intervention were subject to armed government patrols, trying to keep people away from George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon.
Families of our war dead were refused transportation to receive the flag-draped remains of their loved ones.
Open air monuments such as the World War II Memorial in Washington were barricaded to prevent unauthorized intrusion.
More than 1,000 square miles of ocean were declared off-limits to commercial and charter fishermen, a declaration enforced by federal agents.
By all accounts, today’s shutdown is a marked departure from those of the 20th century.
Yes, the federal government is far too big. The nation would be better served by a smaller government.
Whether it should be smaller by 17% or some other amount merits debate. But we know the best first step toward smaller government is the complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
