Why a government shutdown might have been good for America

It looks like the government won't be shutting down next week after all. On Thursday, the House passed a short-term spending bill to keep federal programs and agencies funded through September. The measure, which replaces a similar one that runs out on March 27, cleared the Senate on Wednesday, and now just needs President Obama's signature. The bill leaves in place the $85 billion in automatic "sequester" spending cuts, although the Senate tweaked the cutbacks to spare a few priority items, such as meat inspections and highways.

Not everyone is relieved that the threat of a shutdown has evaporated. "It's not that I like government shutdowns," says Ezra Klein at The Washington Post. "I'm as big a fan of national parks as the next guy. I just really, really, really don't like debt-ceiling fights." And that's where Congress' battle over taxes and spending is headed next, as the federal government is on track to reach its borrowing limit again in late July or August.

Others were hoping to use a government shutdown to force their desired policy outcomes. For instance: Many Republicans say they'll now wait until the coming debt ceiling fight to focus on their big goal of defunding ObamaCare, says Erick Erickson at RedState. The trouble with that strategy is that House Speaker John Boehner says he won't put the nation's credit-worthiness at risk to roll back Obama's new health-care entitlement. That means that if Republicans are serious about dismantling ObamaCare, this debate on a short-term budget to prevent a shutdown was the place to draw a line in the sand.

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Of course, many people are quite relieved, arguing that government shutdowns can be a counterproductive way to make a point about fiscal responsibility. "It seems counterintuitive," says Dan G. Blair at the Chicago Tribune, "but shutdowns do not necessarily save the government money." Preparing for one "takes time and resources that could be spent delivering services, and any savings that are achieved are minimal compared with the size of the federal budget."