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At the risk of sounding trite, let me just say that "here we go again."
Overnight budget talks failed to lead to a federal budget agreement, and now we're just a few hours from the first U.S. government shutdown in 15 years. The shutdown could put 800,000 federal employees out of work, while creating a nightmare for U.S. taxpayers who are regular users of government services.
As bad as that all sounds, the shutdown threat isn't the worst thing I see here – not by a longshot.
The worst thing is that – with a $14.2 trillion national debt – the part of the budget the two sides are squabbling over is miniscule. Democrats have agreed to $34.5 billion in spending cuts, while the Republicans have agreed to $39 billion for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.
It's a rounding error.
There are apparently a few other issues, too, but they also are relatively minor. So here these folks are, arguing over things that really don't matter – and doing so at a time when our country is struggling to rebound from its biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. It is without a doubt an unprecedented national dilemma – and the biggest challenge – that this country will likely see in our lifetimes, especially as we claw our way back from the brink of financial oblivion.
About the Author
Keith Fitz-Gerald has been the Chief Investment Strategist for the Money Morning team since 2007. He's a seasoned market analyst with decades of experience, and a highly accurate track record. Keith regularly travels the world in search of investment opportunities others don't yet see or understand. In addition to heading The Money Map Report, Keith runs High Velocity Profits, which aims to get in, target gains, and get out clean, and he's also the founding editor of Straight Line Profits, a service devoted to revealing the "dark side" of Wall Street... In his weekly Total Wealth, Keith has broken down his 30-plus years of success into three parts: Trends, Risk Assessment, and Tactics – meaning the exact techniques for making money. Sign up is free at totalwealthresearch.com.
Does any of the elected officials get the picture that around 200 BILLION needs to be shaved from the federal budget for 5 YEARS running just to get to 1 trillion which will just about cover the deficit for one year…… What government ???? What future ???? These jokers with their dog and pony show can't even come to terms with 20 or 30 or 60 billion ?????
FROM AUSTRALIA. THIS HAS BEEN VERY INTERESTING.
I am a disabled veteran from the Gulf war and voted republican all my life until this last election when I changed my designation because I thought Bush was wrong and spreading our men and women in uniform too far by trying to fight at least two wars that I know of that absolutely had nothing to do with our country other than to make up for his Daddy's mistake in 1991 by not going all the way to Baghdad and taking out Saddam then when we could have so easily. People we were only 75 miles from there and meeting no resistance and he stopped us. I honestly thought that when I changed to Democrat that I was making the right choice but now I have figured out it doesn't matter what party I'm with, none of them give a rat's patooty about anything but their own agendas. If they don't do something by next Tuesday the 19th they have ruined the greatest country in the world and we will all suffer greatly from it. Do you think they will? I'm sorry to tell you this but no, they won't suffer anything like we will. I don't know if alot of people realize it but they don't rely on the same government programs to get by as you and I. They have their own retirement that is nothing like Social Security that they don't contribute a dime too. They also have health benefits that have nothing to do with Medicare or Medicaid that covers their whole families. They can draw a pension after serving only one term as a lawmaker or President for the rest of their lives and also several other government benefits that we do not enjoy. After reading this article I strongly agree that this really is about political gain to all of them now and we are just pawns in a game at their mercy. What ever happens, I ask all of you to remember this when the next elections roll around and let your voices be heard by voting even if you have never voted in your life. In the meantime let your elected representatives know that you are fed up with the same old dog and pony show and that you are tired of the living off of your backs and those of all the other American people that they have been doing for so many years now. I am not a politician and don't profess to know the answer to all of our problems but I do know that they need to get off of their behinds and pass some kind of bill that keeps our country going before it's too late. I ask that everybody pray with me that this gets done because I think He is our only hope at this point (if they haven't alienated Him too by taking Him out of our schoolhouses and courthouses and almost ever other facet of our government) to make something come together and get us back on the right track. God bless each and everyone of you and hopefully their is still time.
Todays problems with ALL politicians in just about every country is their need of self preservation . There are no statemen any more , only politicos