Commentary on the US Budget Dispute: Main Issue Is the Military
Published in die Tageszeitung
(Germany) on 11 December 2013
by Bernd Pickert (link to original)
(Germany) on 11 December 2013
by Bernd Pickert (link to original)
Translated from
by Amy Baker.
Edited by Gillian Palmer.
With the budget plan in place, the U.S. will be much easier to govern. The plan will be financed through cuts in social and health care policies.
The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ budget committee and his Democratic Senate colleague have reached a compromise which makes a very good impression at first glance. If their plan were to be sanctioned by the Senate, the government would not be forced to face any further shutdowns from the Republicans until the year 2015. If their plan were to be approved, the frantic countermeasures used to stagger from one self-made crisis to the next would be a thing of the past.
However, if one were to look closer, the deal does not look quite so convincing. The newly agreed upon funds will be divided equally between military spending on the one hand and all nonmilitary spending on the other. Therefore, the Pentagon appears to be almost the only institution that has remained virtually unscathed by the sequestration since the beginning of the budget cuts.
This division of funds is in accordance with the Republicans, who for many years have wanted to cut all expenses except for those related to military spending. The new budget will be financed through cuts in Medicare (the health care provision for the elderly), a reduction in funds for the unemployed — affecting approximately 1.3 million long-term unemployed citizens — and through a few new sources of revenue. Regarding the prioritization of investment in infrastructure — a venture that was heavily publicized by Barack Obama — nothing is left in the pot.
The Republicans have not managed to achieve everything they wanted, given their popularity slump following the recent government shutdown; however, they have made good progress. It is questionable whether they could manage to achieve everything they hoped to, considering the pressure they will face during the 2014 Congressional election. Even their most stubborn party members are enraged by this compromise. However, this opposition appears to be just a lot of noise. The U.S. will become much easier to govern following implementation of this plan. It will not, however, be more socially sensitive.
The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ budget committee and his Democratic Senate colleague have reached a compromise which makes a very good impression at first glance. If their plan were to be sanctioned by the Senate, the government would not be forced to face any further shutdowns from the Republicans until the year 2015. If their plan were to be approved, the frantic countermeasures used to stagger from one self-made crisis to the next would be a thing of the past.
However, if one were to look closer, the deal does not look quite so convincing. The newly agreed upon funds will be divided equally between military spending on the one hand and all nonmilitary spending on the other. Therefore, the Pentagon appears to be almost the only institution that has remained virtually unscathed by the sequestration since the beginning of the budget cuts.
This division of funds is in accordance with the Republicans, who for many years have wanted to cut all expenses except for those related to military spending. The new budget will be financed through cuts in Medicare (the health care provision for the elderly), a reduction in funds for the unemployed — affecting approximately 1.3 million long-term unemployed citizens — and through a few new sources of revenue. Regarding the prioritization of investment in infrastructure — a venture that was heavily publicized by Barack Obama — nothing is left in the pot.
The Republicans have not managed to achieve everything they wanted, given their popularity slump following the recent government shutdown; however, they have made good progress. It is questionable whether they could manage to achieve everything they hoped to, considering the pressure they will face during the 2014 Congressional election. Even their most stubborn party members are enraged by this compromise. However, this opposition appears to be just a lot of noise. The U.S. will become much easier to govern following implementation of this plan. It will not, however, be more socially sensitive.