Political Science

Americas paralyzed political system is in crisis and not showing signs of improvement.  Despite President Barack Obamas personal popularity and party majority in both houses of Congress, he still has difficulty passing his basic programme (i.e. healthcare, climate change and financial reform).  Rather than improving under his administration, the countrys ideological divisions are worsening.  These divisions are evident in recent statistical data from November 2009

The Presidents approval rating was 84 among Democrats, while only 18 among Republicans.
58 of Democrats agreed with the countrys current direction.  A mere  9 of Republicans agreed.
57 of Republicans supported deploying more soldiers. 18 of Democrats supported this deployment.
60 of Democrats favored the decrease of military presence in Afghanistan but only 26 of Republicans.
These considerable dissimilarities between party lines reflect an increasingly polarized society, where the gap of political division has broadened over many religious and socio-economical facets.

The brokenness of the political system, itself, is also contributing to Americas governance crisis of paralysis.  Things like filibusters are stalling the progress of policymaking in Senate, especially on more controversial initiatives.  The role of big money also plays a part in warping and stalling the policymaking process as lobbying and private corporate negotiations take place outside the accountability of the public eye.

Finally, there is the federal budget, which may be the leading contributor to Americas crisis situation.  While the U.S. public definitively opposes a tax increase and clings to the Presidents campaign promises against increased taxation, the U.S. government desperately needs the funding to accommodate the core functions of government operation and to provide basic public services.  This standing divergence between the people and their governing body has resulted in unmet needs and a furthered national deficit. 

In order to avoid worsening these paralyzing factors and to restore effective governance, improvement must be made in the growing division over the war, in party relations and in the taxation of Americans.