Government Shutdowns and the Battle for the Soul of America

When one takes a look at the original architecture of the United States Government as laid out in the Constitution, it becomes clear that oversight by We the People and the States was not only intentional, but that it was structurally embedded through funding mechanisms. The appropriation of funds by the House of Representatives, the requirement of Senate approval, and the States’ influence over federal budgeting before the emergence of the Sixteenth Amendment provided the reality that sometimes a government shutdown would be necessary. As we are witnessing in the latest episode of government shutdown theater, the consequences may not be the horrible crisis being reported by the media, but a constitutional correction.