Show Me The Money

Unless the House and Senate Appropriations Committee pass a short-term spending bill to keep the doors of the government open, the U.S. government will run out of money at exactly midnight on Friday April 28^th.

One measure currently on the table is a stopgap measure, introduced by House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, that would simply kick the can down the road, and not very far, pushing the deadline to May 5^th.

While it seems highly unlikely that the House and Senate will not pass some form of final funding package, the fact that our political leaders have put our government’s finances in such disarray, once again, is alarming.  More so, this is not the first occurrence of an 11^th-hour negotiation to complete a funding package.

Whether this crisis is due to the extremely polarized leadership unable to agree on a budget or due to individual politicians using this crisis to strong-arm their agenda, it is tremendously disheartening to see our politicians unable to agree on what’s best for its citizens. It is further disheartening to see our politicians put the U.S. government in such a precarious position repeatedly.

The First 100 Days

Interestingly enough, the budgetary deadline falls directly on the 100^th day of Donald Trump’s presidency. Whereas the first 100 days of a new administration typically are quite productive, this administration has had a difficult time converting pledges into actual legislation.

The bottom line is that on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be put on furlough if our political leaders fail to pass legislation funding our government, and a shutdown is initiated. Although it is extremely unlikely that no action will be taken, those affected by a potential shutdown would rightfully request that our government ‘show them the money.'

Wishing you as always, good trading,