What's happening to the US of A?

Says on the news that the US government is going home at midnight tonight.

Is the US bankrupt? Are they switching the lights off? What does that mean for them and the rest of the world?

 

I tried to tell everyone about this on Facebok a while back but they chose to ignore it,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24306933

 

Only cos they don't understand probably.

I for one don't understand how a government can just 'shut down'. Without being a politician or economist, it just sounds to me like the nation of USA is being abandoned, but surely that makes no sense? Sounds like the USA is completely and utterly done for, worse than Greece even?

 

If the USA is flat broke, how come they have achieved such world influence?

Its not the first time they were broke. I believe the 'space race' between the USA and USSR was actually really a race to see who could get the other side to blow all their cash first. That means they've really been skint for at least the whole of my life time. What's special about this time?

 

They are only shutting down the non-esential things, like Parks.
Anyway, I hope they hold their ground and fight. Obama spends too much money. He borrows from China and gives it to Egypt (lots of sense, right). He 's raised the debt ceiling higher than any other Pres in history. Obama had not done anything for the "American Dream", just the opposite. He also is working on dividing this country, not just party, but color and class.
And this Obamacare will have negative outcomes in the future. Glad the Repbulicans grew some balls.

 

You tube is crawling with videos asking why the Homeland defence service is being kitted out with drones, armoured vehicles, millions of rounds of ammo etc. There's talk of internment camps.

Are they preparing for civil war?

 

Hope so...perhaps the right side will win next time?

 

Thought it was the North side that won last time?

 

How so? I must admit I haven't really been following it, but it seems to me that Obama is trying to create something like our NHS, which has to be a good thing surely? I understand the status quo is if you get sick and need help, the amount of help you get (if any) is based on how much you can afford to pay. Probably ok if you've just bashed your thumb or caught a mild bug, but not so ok if you are, for example, diagnosed with cancer? I believe Obama wants it to be so that regardless of your financial standing, if you need help, you will get it. Maybe I misunderstand, but I don't get why there's so much resistance to a proposal to ensure that if you're holding your sick child in your arms, the very last thing you have to think about is how you're going to pay for their treatment.

 

Probably a good thing in principle but I hope he doesn't want it to be just like the NHS because it's a shambles and after being at the local hospital for most of the afternoon nothing changed my mind.

 

Good in principle yes, and despite the state of our NHS, it is still worth having. Both my sons have had their vaccinations, and while giving birth to them, my wife had highly trained dedicated people looking after her without us having to worry about a bill.

Obama is in a good position. He can look at our NHS and take the good ideas, and leave out the bad stuff like privatisation of various services, excessive bureaucracy, and the crazy principle of running the NHS like a corporation as ours currently is.

In Spain, they have better ideas. They take a more 'joined-up' approach to services. For example, their pharmacists (the better qualified ones) can prescribe medicines that over here would need a doctor to prescribe, and if someone needs an ambulance quickly, but its not life or death (eg a someone's just fallen and broke their leg, but isn't having a heart attack), a taxi driver may take them, and is allowed to speed (within reason) as long as he puts his headlights on and hangs a cloth out of the window, then he can claim the fare back from their government after taking someone to hospital, thus freeing up an ambulance and team of trained paramedics to deal with more urgent cases.

Obama strikes me as not daft. I'm sure he wouldn't create a carbon copy of our NHS, but rather take ideas from us, and other countries, and take something that balances cost against needs. At least I'd hope he'd do that. If he does make a carbon copy of our NHS in its current state, then our US based buddies might have something to worry about.