Larger U.S. budget war rages on despite abated debt ceilingbattle
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 -- While the U.S. Congress cut a last-minute deal late Wednesdayto avert a debt default, the larger budget war is far from over.
That is because lawmakers failed to address the root cause of the conflict -- namely, thesharp contrast in how each side views the role of government.
"The parties remain sharply divided over tax and budget policy," Brookings Institution'ssenior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. "It will take another election to resolve thoseissues."
Recent days have seen Republicans push the country to the edge of economic calamity, asthe party blocked the lifting of the U.S. debt ceiling unless Democrats repealed parts ofPresident Barack Obama's controversial healthcare overhaul.
The White House also dug in its heels, and critics blasted the president for not negotiatingwith Republicans on parts of Obamacare that the GOP argued would harm the economy.
Indeed, the fight over Obamacare is a battle in a larger war. While supporters tout thelandmark reforms as providing health insurance to millions of previously uninsuredAmericans, opponents argue the law is inefficient, unfair and unaffordable at a time whenthe country is mired in 17 trillion U.S. dollars of debt -- roughly equivalent to U.S. grossdomestic product -- with no major spending cuts on the horizon.
While Republicans have voiced concern over Washington's massive spending, neither sidewants to tackle entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- three of themain debt drivers -- as doing so would be a bad political move and land politicians in hotwater with their constituents.
Meanwhile, it remains unknown whether the United States will see a repeat of the debtceiling fight on Feb. 7, which marks the date to which the debt ceiling was extended underWednesday's deal.
But Republicans, who were blamed worldwide as acting irresponsibly for taking thecountry to the edge of economic disaster, were burned in their bid to gain concessions onObamacare. The move badly damaged the Republican brand, and may cause the GOP toavoid the same tactic in the next round, analysts said.
Strategies aside, the war in Congress over spending is expected to rage on in one form oranother. Both sides are expected to stick to their guns, and analysts said there are no signsof a resolution anytime soon.
As for another partial government shutdown, which saw non-essential employeesfurloughed for more than two weeks, GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellvowed Thursday not to allow the government to shutter in the ongoing GOP fight againstObamacare.
Some analysts echoed those sentiments.
"I do not think there will be another government shutdown because the last one was acomplete fiasco for Republicans," West said. "They gained nothing in policy terms andsuffered serious political damage.
"It would be crazy for the GOP to repeat the same strategy."
Last week Congress saw its approval rating dip to an all-time low, with a mere 5 percent ofrespondents saying they back the decisions of government leaders and the majorityblaming the GOP for the partial shutdown, according to an AP-GfK poll.
Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress,told Xinhua that while numbers show that Americans are increasingly becoming moderate,identifying themselves as independents and wanting pragmatic solutions, the politics ofCongressional elections emphasizes the importance of party orthodoxy.
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