The American Dilemma

For weeks, the Republicans and Democrats have traded blame for a government shutdown which is hurting businesses all over the country, as many Federal agencies were shut down due to Congress’s inability to reach an agreement and an ideology war brewing in Congress.America is at risk of a default as the Republicans have refused raise to the debt ceiling without a significant structural plan to reduce government spending and no introduction of new taxes. To add, the Republicans have been adamant about their disapproval of the Affordable Care Act which is also known as “Obamacare” as part of any spending bill. Obamacare aims to provide health insurance to millions of Americans without coverage, much like the medicare system in Canada. However, the Republicans argue that massive government intrusion will cause premiums to skyrocket and put people out of work. If no settlement is made between the Republicans and the Democrats by October 17th, America will run out of money to pay its bills which could potentially cause a global economic crisis of greater damage than the 2008 global financial crisis.

With the unemployment rate slowly decreasing and cautious growth in America since the global financial crisis, the Republicans and Democrats need to put aside party ideology and work together in unity to recover from the crisis; a default is exactly what the economy does not need.