Sorry Yosemite

Today, as I sat down to my computer and opened my web browser, I was greeted by another lovely Google Doodle commemorating the anniversary of something terrific.  You've probably seen it already.




No cake for you, Yosemite.

 



That's right-- Yosemite is turning 123 today! Huzzah! Break out the candles and party hats!

Actually, no. Yosemite will have to spend its birthday all alone-- well, without human visitors, anyway-- because the government shut it down today. Not to over-anthropomorphize a swath of land, but it seems sad.  Though 123 is hardly a milestone-- which makes me ponder Google's motives-- a birthday is a birthday.

The actual humans hardest hit by today's government shutdown are the over 800,000 "non-essential" federal employees who will have to be furloughed, meaning their jobs-- and their paychecks-- are put on hold until Congress and the Senate sort this mess out. 

Why is this happening?  You are sure to receive a different response based on whether you ask a Democrat or a Republican.  Democrats say that it is because the Republican-controlled House is essentially holding the government hostage until they get the amendments they want passed along with the budget. The major amendment in question, is the delay of Obamacare.

Republicans say that it is because Obamacare, as it is written, is unconstitutional, could be disastrous to the economy, and allowing it to go into effect right now would be irresponsible.

Okay.  Here are the facts: "Obamacare," or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law three years ago. Why is this happening now, on the day it is supposed to go into effect-- especially when ACA really doesn't even have anything to do with the budget?

Not content to just let sleeping dogs lie, The House is determined to delay or outright repeal ACA, even though 60% of Americans support it, and in 2010 it passed in both the House and the Senate. In 2012, it was under attack by the House, with conservatives challenging its constitutionality.  The Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional, because:

"According to Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution, “Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it. . . .” This is how Obamacare became the law of the land. The House passed the Senate’s version of the health care bill on March 21, 2010 by a vote of 219 to 212. The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by the president two days later." --Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post

So really, these attacks are nothing new.  It wouldn't even be the first time the House threatened to shut down the government based on provisions that they wanted in the budget.  Unfortunately, it is the first time in 17 years that it actually happened.

Hopefully it won't take them long to sort this out, because 800,000 Americans aren't getting paid anymore, and that would be disastrous to the economy.  It could take a day, or even weeks.

Obamacare doesn't have to be a dirty word. Health Care Reform should be a good thing.  If our elected officials would just put on their grown-up pants and work together on this, the country can get back to business.