Another Government Shutdown? (Here We Go Again)

Own gold and silver in times of governmental failure!

Looks like we’re headed for another government shutdown.  

Congress has until September 30, which is the end of the 2023 fiscal year, to agree on a budget and avoid another shutdown.

Nine out of 10 Americans, according to a Peterson Foundation survey, want Congress to come up with solutions to the national debt and avoid a shutdown.   

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed believe the problem is not going to get better.  They believe it will get much, much worse.

The US war budget is larger than the war budgets of China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, and Ukraine combined.  The national news media always – always – refers to this as “defense spending,” but that appears to be misleading since none of the Biden billions spent on Ukraine can be said to really be defending the people of the United States.  On the contrary, it is likely to draw us into larger conflagrations. Nevertheless, companies on the receiving end of Washinton’s largesse, companies as Lockheed Martin, Huntington Ingalls, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman have a great deal of influence in Congress. 

The Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill reports that “over the last 20 years, the defense sector has dropped $285 million in political donations and $2.5 billion on lobbying to influence Congress and the federal government.”  Just one of those companies, Lockheed Martin “spends roughly $7 million per year on campaign contributions and $13 million a year on lobbying.”

It is hard for the interests of ordinary citizens to prevail against that kind of lobbying and campaign contribution firepower. 

Meanwhile, our friend economic commentator Michael Shedlock shares a widespread skepticism about the new budget showdown:  “Rest assured another budget showdown humiliation is coming. Republicans will surrender after starting a budget fight, like always. It’s more humiliating that way.”