Since March 5th, 2011, the United States government has been operating on temporary budgets. These budgets have been agreed upon by Republicans and Democrats, but only ensure that the government will continue to operate until this Friday, April 8th. If the Republicans and Democrats do not agree on a new budget by Friday, the United States will experience a government shutdown starting Saturday.

If a government shutdown occurs, essential parts of the government will continue to operate, while others close because government funding will end. Mail will still be delivered, and social security checks should still be mailed. However, all federal offices will be completely closed, as will museums, national parks and monuments. According to the Wall Street Journal, a law passed by Congress in 1990 states that “ordinary government functions cannot continue unless their suspension would directly threaten safety or property.”

Republicans and Democrats have been in constant negotiations for the last month regarding the federal budget. Republicans aim to cut the 2011 spending bill by more than $60,000,000,000, while Obama only planned to reduce the budget for 2012 by $24,700,000,000. There was, and a month later, still is, a great disconnect between the two parties, proven by the difference in numbers of their proposed budgets.

Republicans are right in that a drastic cut is needed to stop the extreme federal spending. Obama’s 2011 budget totals to 3.69 trillion dollars. Currently, the United States borrows almost half of every dollar it spends.

But why should we cut the federal budget? What effect does the deficit have on our country? Won’t it just hurt important programs, such as welfare? Many fail to realize how crucial these answers are. Commonly, one views the federal deficit as no more than a number, just a number projected with no impact on our country. Many people do not ignore the possible consequences of our out-of-control budget.

Currently, over $4.5 trillion dollars of the US national debt is owed to other countries. Almost $1 trillion dollars of this debt the United States owes directly to China. As these numbers continue to grow, it is important to note that if any country calls in the loans to the United States, loans so great that we are unable to pay them back, severe conflicts between the countries may result.

As we owe many foreign countries such a great amount of money, we also must pay them interest. It is expected that by 2019 the United States will be paying $700 billion dollars each year just in interest.

Of course, Republicans realize that the cuts which they propose will hurt individual programs. However, these cuts are necessary. The government must cut back on spending, finally reigning in the budget to reduce the overall trend of an increase for over the past 50 years.

Our nation’s debt currently exceeds $14,000,000,000,000 dollars and is steadily increasing. The US federal budget deficit is over $1,342,327,000,000 dollars and increases by over $100,000 dollars in just 30 seconds. The money spent by our government is spiraling out of control. The Republicans are justified in their push to cut the budget significantly.

While the budget cut may not benefit our economy or programs now, it will marginally lessen the disaster that the current generation will pass on to the next. This is an important step in the right direction for our country.