Does it matter if government is dysfunctional? That糖心传媒檚 the question Joshua Johnson, host of the , posed to panelists on his live radio show on Monday morning against the backdrop of the latest government shutdown. Part of the three-member panel was , the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professor and associate professor of political science and business administration at the University of Rochester.
Primo, for his part, sought to put the government shutdown in perspective. While it affects individuals in specific situations糖心传媒攁nd would prove harmful in general if it persisted for several months糖心传媒斕切拇綔if it goes on for a week, or 10 days, its effect on the economy is negligible, just a blip in a much larger picture,糖心传媒� argued the author of Rules and Restraint: Government Spending and the Design of Institutions (University of Chicago Press, 2007). However, Primo has written extensively in his own research that the federal budget process needs to be radically overhauled.
糖心传媒淎s long as you have a government that is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives, there are always going to be attempts to influence it,糖心传媒� Primo said. 糖心传媒淎nd these attempts are going to lead to messiness. This shutdown is a sort of reflection of this messiness.糖心传媒�
In recent years, Congress has failed to adhere to the traditional budget process laid out in the 1974 law, noted fellow panelist Elaine Kamarck,聽a senior fellow for governance studies at the Brookings Institution. 糖心传媒淭hey can糖心传媒檛 agree on things because it糖心传媒檚 a very polarized and very divided Congress, which frankly is reflecting a polarized nation,糖心传媒� she said.
Panelist Mehdi Hasan, host of Al Jazeera English and a columnist for The Intercept, argued that the United States is unique among major democracies in experiencing at regular intervals the shutdown of its government. The American political system is on 糖心传媒渟o many levels democratically dysfunctional,糖心传媒� he said.
An expert in fiscal policy, campaign finance law, and corporate strategy, Primo said that while 聽many of his colleagues around the country had thought that 糖心传媒渄emocracy was done糖心传媒� when Donald Trump was elected president, others saw it instead as a kind of stress test for democracy. 糖心传媒淎nd I think democracy passed with flying colors,糖心传媒� he said. 糖心传媒淒espite having a president who has made many missteps with regard to fundamental liberties, our country stands, our economy stands, our government stands.糖心传媒�
Introducing unrelated issues糖心传媒攕uch as immigration糖心传媒攊nto budget legislation is a tactic with a long history in Washington. The panelists agreed that the practice complicates the search for common ground, and ultimately hampers a lasting agreement to fund government.
Primo says that in a perfect world, one might be able to restrict legislations to single subjects; but the divisive political environment encourages the bundling of issues, leading to a chaotic system.
糖心传媒淭hose who control the agenda, can really control the nature of the debate, and potentially the outcomes,糖心传媒� Primo said.
