Sobia- Global Issues

Challenge 4 (Activity #2);

The government has shut down in the U.S.A and this makes so many things like sites and parks unavailable for everyone in the U.S.A. They are really being unfair because the people who work at the parks don’t get paid whereas the governors do get paid when they shouldn’t. This is because they aren’t doing anything. Some governors are nice and don’t accept the money whereas other governors accept the money and are very unfair to the people that work to get that money. Some people are still yet to decide what they are going to do: accept the money or not accept the money. I could see why some people would accept the money because they might need it to maintain their family and their house . If they have a mansion and still want more money than they might as well give it to someone that needs to keep getting the right amount of food or someone who is just trying to do a nice thing like donate something to the needy and not spend the money on themselves like certain people are doing. The government has also shut down certain websites that aren’t bad in any way but in fact are very useful, like a site for making graphs which I had to use for science.  I wonder why the government is still accepting the money and being shut down for so long but they should try and convince other governors to negotiate something with the president. I hope that they will both come to an agreement that works for everyone.

U.S.A. Government Shutdown By: Corinna

Challenge 4- Activity #1

Hello, it’s Corinna here talking about the government shutdown in the U.S.A. I’m here with president Barack Obama asking him about the problem.

The U.S Congress
This is the congress from 2003

Public Domain White House photo by Susan Sterner – from Wikipedia.com

If I could interview the president, this is what I would ask him…

Corinna: Hello there Mr. President. I would like to know about the government shutdown. First, when and where did all this crazy madness start.

President: Well, the shutdown began on October 1st 2013, and began in Washington where most of congress makes its decisions.

Corinna: Who is behind all the drama that is being caused?

President:  The entire congress makes the decision which includes many, many people.

Corinna: What is the government shutdown?

President: The government shutdown is when congress cannot agree on a budget for America. There are many budgets for many different crucial things that America buys for the people.

Corinna: What is happening due to the shutdown?

President: Unfortunately, lots of different  things have been stopped because of the government. More than 800,000 people are suspended from their job, military families who lost a loved one at war now aren’t receiving the $100,000 that they usually get, and the Washington memorials and museums are closed until we all agree on a budget. Luckily, the people who are not working will get payed back the amount of money they’re not getting now. This may seem a little unfair but, even with the people currently out of work and the businesses that are closed, the congress continues to get paid.

Corinna: That seems extremely unfair to me! I think that congress should not get paid. Although congress makes the decision, they also put America in this position!

President: I know it might seem unfair, but most of congress who still receives their paycheck, gives the money to charity. There are 2 people who keep their paycheck and 2 are undecided.

Corinna: Thank you Mr. Obama for giving me the chance to interview you on the very important and interesting topic. I learned a lot about congress and the government shutdown that I never knew!

President: No problem, Corinna! I loved sitting down and talking about the government shutdown!

The current U.S president Barack Obama
The current U.S president
Barack Obama

Public Domain – Official White House Photo by Pete Souza from Wikipedia.com

That was my interview with the president of the United States, Barack Obama. I think the government shutdown is silly and grown men and women should be able to agree on a budget. I want to know how you feel about the government shutdown! Comment below if you learned something new! 🙂

 

Government shutdown – Nachman

Edublogs Challenge Number 4, Activity #2

 My friend’s mother, a National Park Service officer, has not gone to work since October 1st, because she has been forced to go on “furlough” without pay. She will not be able to go to work again until the Congress passes a spending bill (a “Continuing Resolution”) to fund the government, and re-open all of its offices that have been forced to close. The U.S. government is now shutdown, and only offices deemed ‘essential’ such as active military and air traffic control continue to work. The President and Congress continue to work, and unlike many other government employees, including my friend’s mother, also continue to receive their paychecks.

  It’s bad enough that the government is shut down, but even worse is the possibility that Congress won’t raise the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is the government’s borrowing limit ($16.699 trillion). In order to raise the limit, the President must ask the Congress to vote to raise the debt ceiling, therefore allowing the government to borrow more money. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the government will have to stop paying its bills. If the government were to fail to raise the debt ceiling, economists predict an economic catastrophe.

 In order to better understand why this is happening, I applied for an interview with The President, and was lucky enough to be accepted. Below is a transcript of our conversation:

NKS: So, Mr. President, could you tell us why the government shut-down is really happening?

PO: The Government shutdown is happening because the Republicans in the House of Representatives refuse to pass a spending bill, called a continuing resolution, to end the Government shutdown.

NKS: Why do the Republicans refuse to fund the government, and end the shutdown?

PO: The Republicans are acting in their own interest, for their party, not their country. They are holding this nation hostage to stall the Affordable Care Act, supposedly for the ‘good of the American people’.

NKS: Mr. President, Speaker Boehner says that you are to blame, for you too refuse to compromise. Do you have any reply to this?

PO: I will not negotiate on Obamacare or anything else until a spending bill is passed. I believe that it is vital that this line is not crossed, for if it is,  a minority would rule the government through blackmail. This I will not allow.

NKS: Thank you for your time, Mr. President. It was truly an honor to meet you.

References

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/us/politics/obama-calls-boehner-as-gop-meeting-yields-no-offers.html?hp&_r=0

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/30/politics/government-shutdown-up-to-speed/index.html