Views from the Fence

Government of the People, for the People and By the People
The government of the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America, has closed down!
Thousands of Federal employees have been furloughed. Special benefits have stopped, national parks have been closed, and the military for a while did not get their pay.
A veteran of the Korean War lost his home and there was no place he could go to fix the problem. The deadline for fixing the debt ceiling is looming and if no agreement is reached by October 17, it will be a disaster for the nation.
How did this state of the union come about? How did such a mess take place in a country considered the bulwark of democracy, a nation with a constitution that ensures a government of the people, for the people and by the people?
Third world countries including our very own the Philippines continue to run their governments. In spite of tremendous debts, continuous corruptions in almost all government entities and extreme poverty of majority of people no such government closures are heard of. Where does the weakness emanate from?
Let us try to look back historically. It is said that government closure is not a new event in the United States. It has taken place many times. A conflict between the executive department and Congress was usually the cause of the closure. Negotiations between the two branches of governments usually settle the issues.
The main cause of the rift is often political Here is where the voice of the people plays a role. Government officials in a democracy are representatives of its people. They get their power through elections.
There are usually two parties, each having their own candidates. The party that has more of its candidates elected weld the power.
If the party that wins the majority also includes the president of the country, things generally run smoothly. The opposition cannot do very much to disrupt the running of government.
In the United States at present, the House of Representatives has a majority of the opposition, while the Senate has more members that belong to the President’s Party. There is also an apparent great bitterness in the opposition that expected their candidate for president to win in the last election.
That bitterness is exacerbated by the passage of a law on medical care, more well-known as Obamacare.
There is also the tremendous government debt that continuous to accumulate due to the last two wars in the Middle East wherein the United States lost a tremendous fortune that nearly ended in a recession in 2008-2009.
The Opposition Party have made those two issues causes for government closure. They were able to do it because they held the majority in the House of Representatives. They claim that they are protecting the welfare of the people whom they represent.
According to estimates, the government closure is costing about three hundred million dollars a day. About 800,000 people lost jobs, the poor and most vulnerable are not getting social benefits.
For a time even the death benefits of soldiers who perished in the line of duty were not available.
A recent poll showed that 53% of Americans blame the Opposition Party for the government closure, while 31% blame the President.
Critics from the Opposition say that the President lacks leadership in not negotiating. The President is very firm that he will not negotiate if Obamacare is on the table.
On the 10th day of government closure, a glimmer of hope was seen when the two adversaries started meeting. The spokespersons for the Opposition have expressed hope for a settlement. The politicians seem to be listening to the voice of the people
Majority of Americans are not in favour of government closure. They are not helping those who need most assistance.
There were insinuations in the reports that the closure will be a win-lose competition between the two parties. There were some bitter exchanges and denials. It is not very clear how this political debacle would end. It is just hoped that it would end soon as it is definitely hurting the country.
All in all, this event still demonstrates that the government of the United States is a government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Those elected officials of government got their power from the people of this country. They used that power in a way that they believe is for the benefit of the people.
Whether they are right or wrong is debatable,
Did they use the power for the general good or for a certain selected group that can even help enhance their power? They would know how they are being judged in the next election.
In third world countries, power usually stays for a very long period of time, sometimes transferred from one generation to another, through the control of the country’s resources. There is very little opposition because there is fear for revenge in the form of torture or even death.
Actually democracy is a force in these situations.****