Same Stuff, Different Year (SSDY)

"As much as I would love to hang this one around Obama's neck, I can't. This one is on us. The Republicans who run the House and Senate."

Today is September 22nd. It is a Thursday. In about a week or so, it will be September 30th. So what, one might ask? Time marches on. But the time for the GFY 16 budget year turns into a pumpkin on September 30th. And if there is no GFY 17 budget funding to take its place on October 1st, technically the government shuts down.

As much as I would love to hang this one around Obama's neck, I can't. This one is on us. The Republicans who run the House and Senate. What makes this year different from the past years is we have Paul Ryan running the House. Mr. Budget himself. And there still is no budget. So this year, like many years in the past, we have a choice. Shut down the government until a budget is passed (a real poison pill for the Republicans), or pass the dreaded CR (Continuing Resolution).

Some don't fully understand what a CR is. As an analogy, it is 13 o'clock. It is the 31st of September or the 32nd of October. In football, it is overtime. In baseball, it is extra innings. In the world of government, it is the life preserver for not getting the work done during normal hours.

So what if we operate using a CR rather than a fresh budget? First off, spending which should stop, continues. Next, the new year's spending has no foundation in budgeting. Washington becomes a drunken orgy of spending as there simply is no budget which means anything. And as most of us homeowners know, spending without a basis (budget) often time leads to excessive indebtedness. Like almost $20T in national debt. 

Yes, I remember all the promises at the start of this Congress. No more omnibus bills. No more CR type of patching. Each of the twelve appropriation bills will be passed on its own merit. It will be neat, it will be orderly. There will be no more end of the fiscal year scrambles. Right...

So here we are again. Same Stuff, Different Year (SSDY). What have we learned from the mistakes we have made this year? Nothing. We will most likely be back in the same pickle in the near future. 

Usually I don't have a dog in this budget fight. If the government closes down, it really does not. Life goes on. However during a closure, there are some symbolic things the government does to impose inconvenience on the citizens. Like closing down the national park system. And this year that would be tough. 

First off, it is the 100th anniversary of our park system. That is a big butt deal!Second (from a personal viewpoint), we are leaving at the end of the month to visit about four or five of the national parks. If they are closed when we get there, I am not going to be a happy camper. And my wife will be about three degrees worse than unhappy.

Just as an observer, I would think that during an election year, the people running the joint would want to appear to really have their poop in a group. That they deserve to stay in their jobs for another term. Instead they look like the gang who could not shoot straight. And this - is another reason why so many are fed up with government.