Editorial: Shut it down and leave it shut down

The federal government embarked on its second week of a “shutdown” as the Enterprise went to press Tuesday, and the country is better for it because it gives Americans a chance to see what they can do without.

The hoopla is centered on the inability of the president and the Imperial Congress to come to an agreement on a continuing resolution to keep several government functions funded. A continuing resolution is different than an actual budget… an actual thought-out spending plan that the government – namely the Senate – hasn’t passed in several years. A continuing resolution in simple terms just means that we’re going to keep on spending like tomorrow will never come and the bank will never run out of money.

Which brings us to another problem… the debt ceiling. As unbelievable as it sounds, the government can only borrow so much money before it hits a debt limit prescribed by law. As of Tuesday morning, the United States of America owes its creditors a mere $16,753,619,388,430.93. By the time you read this, that number will be inaccurate, because it goes up thousands of dollars per second or just shy of $2 billion in a day.

Tuesday morning, every citizen’s (man, woman, and child) share of the debt was $53,552. Every taxpayer owed $148,223. Your share is higher by the time you read this. It will be higher still when you’re finished.

There are some who will tell you that’s no big deal, but the time will come when this gravy train runs out of gravy. That time may be next week when some government pencil pushers say they will reach the debt limit, and the president and his party are pressing for Congress to raise the ceiling… again.

Republicans in the House of Representatives… driven by their Tea Party wing… are insisting that any new debt ceiling has to be accompanied by spending cuts. And they are being just as insistent that there will be no deal on a continuing resolution unless the federal takeover of healthcare is repealed, changed, or at least delayed. How long can they hold out before the more traditional Republicans convince them that “compromise” is in the best interest of the country?

Unfortunately, compromise is typically a one-way street in Washington with conservatives caving to the interests of big government and getting little or nothing in return. And that’s why the combination of this shut down and the debt crisis is so important. It gives the libertarian elements in Congress a chance to make something happen to finally put the shackles back on this out of control government and downsize the beast.

To watch the news, you would think that Armageddon is at hand, but the shutdown is not a crisis. One FoxNews.com report says that only about 17 percent of the government is being affected, and if you look at this CNN report – http://bit.ly/1aGsvqy – you’ll see full breadth of government agencies that are getting along just fine as well as some truly non-essential agencies that are appropriately shut down and more that need to be.

Given the state of our national finances and the largely unconstitutional nature of our government, now is not a time for compromise. Now is the time to carve up national government like a Thanksgiving turkey. If something is considered non-essential, close it, privatize it, or send it back to the states. National parks – turn them over to the states. TSA agents – abolish TSA and turn airport security back to local authorities. Go through every department and every agency and fund only what’s most important to this nation and only then what is authorized by the constitution. And here’s a thought, stop spending American citizens’ money to spy on us. Abolish the NSA domestic surveillance program.

And as far as the debt ceiling goes, that door should be closed. $17 trillion is enough debt. It’s time to pay our own way. As long as the government can borrow more money, it will never control its spending.

The GOP is largely to blame for the mess we’re in, but right now the hardliners in the party are giving America a chance to make real changes. They have drawn a line in the sand. Now we just have to see if that line means something… or if just like BO’s red line(s) in Syria – meaningless.