On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy unveiled plans to open an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. This came as a surprise, as just a few days ago McCarthy claimed he would not proceed with impeachment if the House did not vote on it.
The decision by McCarthy to abruptly open the impeachment inquiry comes from intense pressure by Republican colleagues such as Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, with the latter stating that she “will not vote to fund the government without a vote on the impeachment inquiry,” according to Reuters.
This article does not attempt to report the details of the case or discuss whether I believe there to be enough evidence or not. This article argues that the political ambitions (such as impeachments and threats of government shutdowns) are harming normal Americans (mostly middle- and low-class citizens).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the child poverty rate “skyrocketed” after hitting a new low a year ago. As inflation hit families and pandemic relief began to dwindle, so did other avenues of help, such as the child tax credit.“In 2022, there were key changes in federal tax policy, including the expiration of temporary expansions to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as well as the end of pandemic-era stimulus payments which lead to increases in SPM poverty,” according to the Census Bureau.
Looking at the state of our working class, it is concerning how Republicans and Democrats alike are submitting charges of the highest degree on each other for the benefit of political gain. It is naive to think either party is not guilty of committing illegal acts against this country.
That being said, holding those in power accountable should also involve providing something to those who suffer the consequences of such heinous actions. As I mentioned earlier in the example of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, why is impeachment worth more than funding the government? Normally, shutting down the government for a period of 1-3 weeks wouldn’t be a huge hit to the overall economy, says Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
However, says Zandi, if we finish out the year with such stagnant economic movement, “you could construct a scenario where you get a negative print in Q4,” (more on what Q4 is here).
Additionally, Zandi suggests that a “so-called sequestration under the rules 1% cut across all discretionary spending.”
Again, in normal circumstances, a cut in spending like this would not catapult the economy into a recession, however, as Zandi notes, “the economy is going to be soft in the weak here in the next two, three, four quarters and thus vulnerable.”
Therefore, much of the progress made so far in the post-pandemic economy (relying on what Zandi calls the “firewall” of consumers) is at risk once again.
While holding those (such as our presidents) accountable, the fringe politicians cannot give in to the banter. This sort of activity (the harsh divide between the DNC and RNC) is almost unprecedented. It doesn’t happen often that each party opens impeachment proceedings against back-to-back presidents.
Clearly, all of this news is politically motivated. Just a day after attending the annual Cy-Hawk game, Donald Trump, according to Politico “had dinner at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an ally of Trump and McCarthy. At the gathering, the topic of impeachment was discussed, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
Just two days later, McCarthy delivered the impeachment news. I am not suggesting causation, but merely a fishy correlation.
Obviously, there is something drastic happening in the political system. As citizens, we must not underestimate our own importance in these matters. As Zandi stated earlier, we are the “firewall” between success and doom.
Without the resiliency of the middle and working class, the upper echelon would be obsolete. They are willing to risk our livelihood to achieve their objectives, and somehow, some way, we fall into their traps and join them. Justice should be brought to those who deserve it, but not at the expense of those who are already vulnerable.
