Topic Of The Day:-“Locked down — on U.S. shutdown”
Last week, the 19th federal government shutdown in U.S. history went into force. If previous occasions are any indication, this shutdown will also lead to the furlough of many hundreds of thousands of government workers, closure of national parks with a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and a possible overall macroeconomic cost of several billions of dollars in terms of productivity loss associated with the cessation of multiple public services. This encore is entirely preventable and the seismic payment default can be traced back to one inescapable reality in Washington: congressional dysfunction stemming from bitterly partisan politicking. A federal shutdown occurs when lawmakers fail to agree on a spending bill, and cannot even sign off on a stopgap funding measure that might keep the government machinery humming for a few more months. In this case, the bill in question would have helped tide over a looming fiscal gap at least until the middle of February. Yet that did not happen, because Republicans refused to compromise on a hardline approach on immigration policy, specifically on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Obama-era clemency policy for foreign-born children of U.S.-based undocumented workers. That policy was ended in September 2017 when President Donald Trump revoked his predecessor’s executive order to protect these children, the so-called DREAMers, from deportation. This apparently rattled Democratic lawmakers to the point where they were willing to make a stopgap budget deal, contingent on Congress agreeing to legislation to shield nearly 700,000 of these law-abiding youngsters from removal. With dark clouds on Capitol Hill overshadowing the first anniversary of Mr. Trump’s presidency, he has reiterated his call for strong border security and a crackdown on “illegal immigrants”. Interestingly, a recent CNN poll suggested 84% of Americans want DACA extended. But a government shutdown is likely to cut both ways, hurting the prospects of those on both sides of the aisle seeking re-election in the November 2018 mid-term election. Voters may well consider Democrats to be obstructionist, or as putting undocumented workers ahead of national security. And Republicans may lose votes for failing to keep the government working despite controlling the Senate, House of Representatives and the White House. Regardless of whom wins in that election, the debate on immigration reform will continue. Too much is at stake for not only the nearly 11.3 million undocumented workers but also the nearly 1.5 million temporary foreign workers, among whom are 500,000 to 700,000 H-1B visa holders, the majority of them from India. For, when Congress finally transcends its partisan biases and legislates a comprehensive immigration reform package, it will likely introduce a revised policy for each of the visa categories
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Compelling
Meaning: Not able to be refuted; inspiring conviction.
Example: “there is compelling evidence that the recession is ending”
Synonyms: Forceful, Powerful
Antonyms: Weak
2) Tactics
Meaning: An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end.
Example: “the minority attempted to control the Council by a delaying tactic”
Synonyms: Strategy, Scheme
3) Ideological
Meaning: Based on or relating to a system of ideas and ideals, especially concerning economic or political theory and policy.
Example: “the ideological struggle that underpinned the cold war”
4) Complexities
Meaning: The state or quality of being intricate or complicated.
Example: “an issue of great complexity”
Synonyms: Complication, Problem
Antonyms: Simplicity
5) Rival
Meaning: A person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity.
Example: “he has no serious rival for the job”
Synonyms: Competitor, Opponent
Antonyms: Partner, Ally
6) Contender
Meaning: A person or group competing with others to achieve something.
Example: “a presidential contender”
7) Mobilisation
Meaning: The action of organizing and encouraging a group of people to take collective action in pursuit of a particular objective.
Example: “mobilization of the working class against big business”
8) Diverse
Meaning: Showing a great deal of variety; very different.
Example: “a culturally diverse population”
Synonyms: Various, Manifold
Antonyms: Similar, Uniform
9) Overwhelming
Meaning: Very great in amount.
Example: “his party won overwhelming support”
Synonyms: Profuse, Immense
Antonyms: Small
10) Accordance
Meaning: In a manner conforming with.
Example: “the ballot was held in accordance with trade union rules”
Synonyms: Following
11) Constrained
Meaning: Compel or force (someone) to follow a particular course of action.
Example: “children are constrained to work in the way the book dictates”
Synonyms: Compel, Coerce
12) Engaging
Meaning: Participate or become involved in.
Example: “organizations engage in a variety of activities”
Synonyms: Undertake, Involve
13) Shutdown
Meaning: A closure of a factory or system, typically a temporary closure due to a fault or for maintenance.
Example: “engines should be allowed to cool down between a shutdown and the next start”
Synonyms: Closure, Close
14) Indication
Meaning: A sign or piece of information that indicates something.
Example: “the visit was an indication of the improvement in relations between the countries”
Synonyms: Sign, Mark
15) Furlough
Meaning: Leave of absence, especially that granted to a member of the services or a missionary.
Example: “a civil servant home on furlough”
16) Macroeconomic
Meaning: Relating to the branch of economics concerned with large-scale or general economic factors, such as interest rates and national productivity.
Example: “macroeconomic policies”
17) Cessation
Meaning: The fact or process of ending or being brought to an end.
Example: “the cessation of hostilities”
Synonyms: End, Termination
Antonyms: Start, Resumption
18) Encore
Meaning: A repeated or additional performance of an item at the end of a concert, as called for by an audience.
Example: “everybody got up on stage for the final encore”
Synonyms: Curtain, Repetition
19) Seismic
Meaning: Of enormous proportions or effect.
Example: “there are seismic pressures threatening American society”
20) Dysfunction
Meaning: Disruption of normal social relations.
Example: “inner-city dysfunction”
21) Stemming
Meaning: Originate in or be caused by.
Example: “many of the universities’ problems stem from rapid expansion”
Synonyms: Derive from
Antonyms: Cause
22) Bitterly
Meaning: In an angry, hurt, or resentful way.
Example: “passengers complained bitterly about grand promises made by the company”
23) Politicking
Meaning: Engage in political activity.
Example: “the cumbersome bureaucracy and politicking of the European Community”
24) Sign off
Meaning: Conclude a letter, broadcast, or other message.
Example: “he signed off with a few words of advice”
25) Stopgap
Meaning: A temporary way of dealing with a problem or satisfying a need.
Example: “transplants are only a stopgap until more sophisticated alternatives can work”
Synonyms: Expedient, Makeshift
Antonyms: Permanent
26) Humming
Meaning: Be in a state of great activity.
Example: “the house was humming with preparations for the dance”
Synonyms: Vibrate, Bustle
Antonyms: Quiet
27) Looming
Meaning: (of an event regarded as threatening) seem about to happen.
Example: “there is a crisis looming”
Synonyms: Threaten, Menace
28) Hardline
Meaning: Uncompromising; strict.
Example: “a hard-line party activist”
Synonyms: Uncompromising, Extreme
Antonyms: Moderate
29) Clemency
Meaning: Mercy; lenience.
Example: “an appeal for clemency”
Synonyms: Mercy, Mildness
Antonyms: Strictness, Ruthlessness
30) Undocumented
Meaning: Not having the appropriate legal document or license.
Example: “undocumented immigrants”
31) Revoked
Meaning: Officially cancel (a decree, decision, or promise).
Example: “the men appealed and the sentence was revoked”
Synonyms: Cancel, Repeal
Antonyms: Introduce, Enact
32) Rattled
Meaning: Make (someone) nervous, worried, or irritated.
Example: “she turned quickly, rattled by his presence”
Synonyms: Disconcert, Disturb
33) Law-abiding
Meaning: Obedient to the laws of society.
Example: “a law-abiding citizen”
Synonyms: Well behaved, Lawful
Antonyms: Lawless, Criminal
34) Overshadowing
Meaning: Be more impressive or successful than (another person).
Example: “he was always overshadowed by his brilliant elder brother”
Synonyms: Outshine, Surpass
35) Reiterated
Meaning: Say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity.
Example: “she reiterated that the government would remain steadfast in its support”
Synonyms: Repeat, Restate
36) Crackdown
Meaning: A series of severe measures to restrict undesirable or illegal people or behaviour.
Example: “a crackdown on car crime”
Synonyms: Clampdown, Elimination
37) Prospects
Meaning: Chances or opportunities for success or wealth.
Example: “the poor prospects for the steel industry”
Synonyms: Possibility, Catch
38) Obstructionist (derived word-Obstructionism)
Meaning: The act of intentionally stopping or slowing down an official process.
Synonyms: Unhelpful, Uncooperative
39) Transcends
Meaning: Surpass (a person or achievement).
Example: “he doubts that he will ever transcend Shakespeare”
Synonyms: Surpass, Exceed
40) Comprehensive
Meaning: Of large content or scope; wide-ranging.
Example: “a comprehensive collection of photographs”
Synonyms: Inclusive, Complete
Antonyms: Partial, Selective
