Today is the day and Congress has not reached an agreement. After setting themselves up for a high-powered game of chicken – seeing who would blink first – they failed to move and the car crash has happened.
When Congress put the Sequester legislation together, they never actually thought it would come to this. Sadly, this is how broken the system has become. The Democrats and the Republicans are failing to do their jobs and solve the nation’s challenges.
After staring each other down for months now, the day has arrived and neither side has given an inch. This sometimes feels like it is all fun and games for their childish behavior in D.C.
But for us real folk at home, the people they supposedly represent, what does it all really mean? To hear the media tell it – our schools will collapse, airports will close, criminals will run free, hospitals will turn patients away and our way of life will basically fall apart.
Well, maybe not so much, at least not today. It will take a period of time for the cuts to become effective. The government departments and agencies have been putting forth their most dramatic scenarios in order to pressure Congress to act and to encourage citizens to engage more and influence them to keep the money in place.
Frankly, each agency will address their needs and determine the best path for the cuts. Does it mean some things will change? Yes, it does. Does it mean America may collapse because of it? Not likely. We’ll keep moving forward.
Meanwhile, the bigger issue is one the American people have to answer. How long are we going to allow our elected leaders to behave like bad children? We have to decide what we want. When they ask us in polling, we rate Congress among the lowest of all. We loathe their very existence. But when they ask about our own Member of Congress, we cheer on their position.
Well, they are just representing us. We have allowed our country to be led by posturing and positioning. Members of Congress make significantly more money than the average American and many of them were comfortable financially before they were elected. They often live their lives far removed from the rest of us. Their healthcare plan is best and they exempt themselves from many of the laws governing the rest of Americans and American business.
Yet, we pat them on the back individually and tell them they are doing a good job. Really?
It is time for the members of the House and the Senate and the White House to get their act together and govern this country. Stop talking to the airwaves and try talking to each other.
And if you can’t do that, be sure that the Sequester includes significant cuts to your own budgets …… or we will cut your budgets ourselves – by sending you home!