Government Shutdown 2013 Blamed On Republicans, Obama The Most [Poll]

The 2013 government shutdown is being blamed on Republicans and President Obama the most according to the recent polls.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the 2013 government shutdown history is tied into the debt ceiling and Obamacare.

To put the 2013 government shutdown fight over Obamacare in perspective, the Obamacare budget has gone from $850 billion over 10 years to almost $2 trillion and growing. The head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) testified before the House Budget committee that Obamacare would kill 800,000 American jobs. But third party estimates claim the Obamacare job loss will affect 940,000 workers, although both estimates do not take into account how some businesses are choosing to reduce hours to lower than full-time.

Because of these reason the Republicans want to table the individual implementation of the Affordable Care Act for a year just as the Obamacare business mandate has already been delayed by President Obama. Similar to how the automatic sequester was created, House Republicans are also asking that a group of 20 Congressional leaders from both sides work out a new debt ceiling deal that tackles the Federal deficit (which currently stands at around $850 billion). On the other hand, Democrats want the debt ceiling to be raised by $1 trillion, which should effectively kick the can down the road for another year.

But regardless of the history Americans are just angry at the government over the Federal government shutdown. But 62 of Americans believe Republicans should be blamed for most of the government shutdown, with 21 percent only saying a moderate amount. President Obama and the Democrats are both tied at 49 percent for sharing the blame the most while House Speaker John Boehner trails a little at 48 percent. At the back of the pack is the Tea Part movement at 43 percent and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at 39 percent.

In addition to assigning blame, 68 percent of Americans consider the 2013 government shutdown a “major problem for the country.” If the debt ceiling is not raised the US defaults on their debt 60 percent consider it extremely likely we’ll face another economic crisis to rival the Great Recession.

And they’re right. The debt ceiling is essentially an artificial barrier created in 1917 that limits the Federal government in issuing new bonds, which is the principle way the Federal government borrows money. The debt ceiling does not control or limit the ability of the federal government to run deficits or incur further debt. Rather, it is a limit on the ability to pay back obligations on debts already incurred.

The effect of a two-week government shutdown on 4th quarter GDP growth was previously estimated at 0.3 percentage points, which would slow tax revenue and potentially push the Federal deficit spending back over $1 trillion. If the debt ceiling is not raised the United States credit rating could fall and devalue the US dollar, worsening the economic impact further. But not lowering the Federal deficit would result in the long term effects being even worse.

Who do you think should be blamed for the 2013 government shutdown and the debt ceiling problems?