The Government Shutdown that people have been hearing a good deal about is in full swing. The Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican House were unable to reach an agreement about Obamacare and how to fund the government, causing the shutdown which is affecting people everywhere. Every year, the federal government needs to set spending priorities and how to fund the government, but this year an agreement couldn’t be reached. The reason this situation is so ridiculous is because of the House’s inability to be reasonable.

While federal funding and spending are problems, Obamacare is the boiling point. Obamacare was supposed to go into effect this week allowing for easier access to healthcare to poorer families. The bill was approved by the Senate and by the president, but the House will not let it through.

“This shutdown is not about deficits. It’s not about budgets,” Obama said in an article on the Washington Post. “This shutdown is about rolling back our efforts to provide health insurance to folks who don’t have it. This, more than anything else, seems to be what the Republican Party stands for these days.”

The Republican party and House would rather fund projects like the military than funding affordable healthcare for people who need it the most.

As of now there doesn’t seem to be an end to the shutdown any time soon, causing many problems for many Americans. The list of problems below is provided by aflcio.org:

• If the shutdown lasts more than 10 days, more than 2 million military service members could see their pay delayed.

• Half the civilian workforce in the Department of Defense would be furloughed without pay and the other half would have to work for delayed pay.

• Nearly 9 million pregnant women, recent mothers, and young children could lose clinical services and food benefits.

• More than 400 national parks, museums and zoos will close down.

• Almost 6 million small businesses would see financial support delayed with small business loan programs being shut down.

• More than 800,000 federal government employees could be furloughed without pay.

• Educational, compensation, and pension benefits for hundreds of thousands of veterans could be delayed.

• Applications for new Social Security benefits would be delayed and services for seniors significantly delayed as workers are furloughed.

• If the government is shut down for the same length of time as it was in the mid-1990s, the cost for taxpayers would be about $2 billion.

It is a terrible thing when the American people are forced to pay the price for the incompetence of its own government, and they are getting paid to do it.

While the approval ratings of Obamacare are not amazing (only 37% think it’s a good idea), the public disagrees with the shutdown even more (congress’ approval rating is at an all time low of 10%).

This shutdown is benefiting no one and is costing taxpayers millions and potentially billions. Negotiations haven’t been going well for either side, but that needs to change. While I feel that it is the House’s and Republican’s fault we are in this mess, the Senate and the Democrat’s need to find a way to come to terms with the opposition and come to an agreement before things go from bad to worse.