We are now over a month into the longest partial government shutdown in American history.
As we hear Trump and the Democrats make their cases for keeping the government partially closed until one or the other side yields, the federal worker is simply ignored.
I am a big proponent of smaller government. Getting rid of the Departments of Education, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs while slimming down the Departments of Energy, HUD, Treasury, Interior, Environmental Protection, HHS, Labor, Commerce, and Transportation would suit me just fine.
That’s a lot of workers being let go. Yes, it is. Which is one of the reasons none of those departments will ever be streamlined and/or abolished. The government has no plans, and hasn’t had any plans for generations, to shrink itself. There has to be a vibrant and robust economy to absorb those millions who would be laid off, which is another reason none of those departments will ever be streamlined and/or abolished. The fiscally responsible Republicans of yore are gone.
For the last ten years, they have presided over a more than doubling of the national debt. Oh yes, the Republicans are as much to blame for the unrepayable debt as Obama. Quite frankly, the Republicans are MORE responsible for it as they held the purse strings for six of the eight years Obama was in the oval office. Remember the good old days when Mark Levin used to rail at the Republicans for not defunding ANY part of Obamacare? Good times.
This shutdown is a showcase of the dysfunction, pettiness, and complete lack of caring both sides have for the people it is affecting. In fact, just to get an idea of how petty it all is…
Donald Trump is holding 800,000 AMERICAN’s financial lives hostage for 1/4th of the money to build a wall Mexico was going to pay for… and declare a win.
The Democrats are helping Donald to hold 800,000 AMERICAN’s financial lives hostage by refusing to give him 0.136% of Federal spending to build a wall mexico was supposed to pay for… and denying Donald a win.
Meanwhile, AMERICAN citizens are having their paychecks withheld by THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT, being told to “adjust” and that their plight is their own fault for not saving enough.
And let’s go even further into the stupid by pointing out the Department of Homeland Security is being affected because Donald is so worried about….. wait for it……… the homeland’s security.
Of course, this article would not be complete without an accounting of at least two secondary effects this shutdown has had on the economy at large:
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on Tuesday that the airline will lose $25 million in revenue in January and any other full month in which the federal government is shut down.
Business Insider
The government shutdown is jeopardizing jobs and tens of billions of dollars in revenue for the heavily regulated commercial fishing industry, a coalition of groups representing fishermen from Cape Cod to Alaska said Tuesday.
Washington Examiner
Who still believes the government is working for the people when their petty skirmishes leave hundreds of thousands wondering how they are going to make mortgage payments, rent, car payments, and credit card payments? If anyone still believes either party cares about the people of this nation, I have a wall around San Antonio to sell you.
