SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif- It seems like the country has been hit with one financial crisis after another. So Your Central Coast News wanted to find out if this unusual? Or is history repeating itself?
"This is quite unusual in the sense that we don't normally have these self inflicted wounds that the government keeps producing, but its not unusual for the government to sort of kick the can down the road in terms of avoiding major policy decisions for some time," said Michael Latner, a Cal Poly Political Science Assistant Professor.
Although, that's exactly what's happened with the three major financial crises hitting the country: The so-called fiscal cliff, sequester and debt ceiling. "The problems are not economically impossible to solve, they are just politically difficult to solve because neither party is willing to give up anything for their base in order to reach common ground," said Latner.
Now if these problem sound familiar they should. Back in the mid-90's President Bill Clinton and the republican controlled congress reached a budget impasse, forcing a government shutdown, possibly the most serious in history at that time.
However, it wasn't always this way, even with a distinct two party system. "Ronald Reagan was a stalwart conservative, Tip O'Neill was the speaker of the house, but they cut deals they negotiated they built coalitions in order to make government work and that's what we are not seeing today," said Latner.
The country has now fallen off the fiscal cliff and slammed into the sequester. If there is no deal by the 27th government could shutdown.
