Fiscal Cliff

In any essay about US government, it will be very important to mention the problems of Congress, especially with the recent negotiations about the Fiscal Cliff. Here is a great graph from Wikipedia explaining the long term problems which the current negotiations are not coming close to solving:

Essentially in the long term Congress and the President will have to deal with ever increasing costs (thanks to things like pensions and health-care costs), and a tax system which does not take in enough revenue to cover these costs.

Certainly a good thing to use as an example in any essay on the "broken branch" of Congress, or the ability of the US political system to take important decisions.

The recent negotiations are essentially a short-term fix for the immediate problem, but not anything like the long-term strategic thinking which is needed. A good article about it here from the Economist.

The deal has got through both chambers of Congress.

Important to note the importance of VP Joe Biden negotiating because he is a former Senator.

All of which is great stuff for any essay on the importance of the Vice-President, Presidential Power, or Congress' weaknesses.

A thorough account of all the negotiations here from Politico.

[Picture credit - Wikimedia Commons]