Measuring Democracy

It is usually pretty easy to be critical of democracy in the United States, but for once, it actually seems like it is working in regards to the debates on the national budget.

Obama’s initial budget proposal was shot down (as it usually is) and now the Republicans and Democrats are duking it out in Congress. The bickering hasn’t subsided, nor has the intense divide between the two parties, but there has been a decent effort on both ends to compromise on the budget.

Compromise between parties in US politics is pretty rare, especially in times when both chambers of Congress are controlled by one party. But the beauty of the current state of Congress (Republicans with a majority in the House, Democrats with the same in the Senate), both sides have to come to an agreement. Either that, or they government shuts down, which the US economy really can’t afford.

I am not going to weigh in on what I think should happen to the US budget. Rather, I am glad to see a resemblance of democracy in American politics. Democrats and Republicans are representing the broad political interests of their constituents and parties; both sides will have to come to an agreement eventually if they are to continue to run the federal government.

The Huffington Post had a great article on the current budget debates.

One thing I hate about Huff Post: there are over 20 Facebook or Twitter buttons on the one webpage. WE GET IT: you want to be liked.

UPDATE: I spoke too soon: Congressional Leaders Show Few Signs of Compromise