The Government Shutdown and Ideology

Writing in The Hartford Courant, Professor of Economics Richard Grossman agrees with President Barack Obama’s accusation that the Republicans are on an “ideological crusade” by refusing to pass a continuing budget resolution unless substantial changes are made to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The Republicans’ tactics are costly and ignorant of political reality, Grossman writes. Pointing to examples as diverse as the 19th century Irish famine and Japan’s refusal to confront its ailing banks in the 1990s, Grossman writes: “Republicans should take a lesson from history, which has shown time and time again that such ideological crusades, when applied to economic policy, can have disastrous consequences.”