Blog Assignment 7

An issue that I am interested in is the budget situation that is ongoing in the U.S. government.  No one can agree on a way to effectively save money and make appropriate budget cuts.  The House, the Senate, and the President all have different views, and each view is conflicting with the other.  This has caused a ridiculously long process of creating an effective budget that will help our country.  At one point during this “crisis,” the government was actually considering a shut down until a decision was made.  Thankfully, they did not go through with the shut down.  However, they are still in the process of making decisions to create an effective budget. 

I do believe that there are areas in which the government could make budget cuts that would help our country.  Unfortunately, everyone in the government has different opinions/ideas, and they are all clashing together.  I hope that the government is able to come to a conclusion that will save money and begin to help the country climb out of the enormous amount of debt that we are currently in. 

This issue is of interest to me because during this process they have cut federal spending in areas that directly affects my family.  Military pay has been affected, and the benefits we receive as a military family have been altered to save the government money.  Military families have been affected during a time of war, and this has decreased the morale of troops overseas.  At one time, my husband was told that he might not get paid because the government might shut down due to the fact they could not come to an agreement over the budget.  Honestly, that is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.  I am sure the President and other high-ranking members of the government would have still received their paychecks but not our soldiers who defend our freedom.  I think that the government should decrease their own salaries before they start shutting down beneficial programs and benefits that military families have access to.  In my opinion, this budget issue has turned into Republicans vs. Democrats and who is right vs. who is wrong.  Each party thinks it is right, and the other is wrong.  No resolution will be reached if the different branches of government and the different parties do not work together to determine the best possible solution.

All in all, I am losing faith in the U. S. government as a whole.  If the different sides can’t come together to save the country money and lower the amount of U. S. debt, where is our country heading?

Below are several different links regarding the budget issues and the proposed government "shut down."  If you have time to read up on this issue, you can really learn a lot.  These articles explain the situation much better than I can.  You can also use google news to learn more about the budget crisis.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/17/white-house-holding-out-hope-for-grand-deficit-deal-budget-director-says/

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/stop-posturing-and-threats-about-debt-limit-budget_2011-07-17.html

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/171893-white-house-budget-director-still-time-for-a-landmark-deficit-reduction-deal