Ongoing Budget Fight Threatens to Shut Down U.S. Government

COMMENTARY | The U.S. 2011 federal budget should have been approved and in place on Oct. 1, but intransigent congressmen and congresswomen have made a deal almost impossible as the new April 8 deadline for a government shutdown approaches. Without a spending bill in place or another extension, the government again faces a massive shutdown of services. Because "each party sees its soul at stake" it is difficult to see who the real intransigents are.

As Democrats and Republicans continue to snarl at each other and posture for the benefit of their constituents, "both parties remain uncertain about which of them would bear the brunt of public anger" if they fail to find common ground and get on with the business of serving the people. Everyone seems to agree that budget cuts are needed, but no one seems able to agree on what form those cuts take. What's fair for one side isn't fair for the other. But is that the real issue? Isn't "fair" supposed to be free from bias? Shouldn't "fair" be in the interests of the people and not the political parties?

In defense of the politicians, deciding who wins and who loses isn't a simple task. Cutting money from health programs, schools, military or any other program might have catastrophic consequences in the future as well as the near term. The current proposal is to spend $3.834 trillion in 2011 but collect only $2.567 trillion, which leaves a deficit of $1.267 trillion. In light of those numbers, the Republican authored cuts of $61 billion are less than 5 percent of the deficit. The only real fair way to reduce spending is across the board instead of picking out only those programs that seem distasteful from one perspective or another.

It's time for our congressional leaders to stop being concerned with politics and start leading. There's no free lunch; someone is going to pay, and the more time Congress spends pointing fingers the sooner the bill will come due, and the bigger it will be. It's almost fiscal year 2012, and Congress still hasn't fulfilled one of their primary missions for 2011. My challenge to Congress is to man up, make the decisions we elected you to make, and stop whining.