It would have been nice starting off the New Year on a positive note. Unfortunately, the world is not a positive place. Approximately 800,000 of my fellow federal civil servants are either sitting at home not getting paid…or working…without getting paid.
The reason…over a border wall that will be ineffective and therefore a complete waste of money.
It’s pretty clear the Republican Party did not learn from the last major federal government shutdown. They bore the blame of that one…just like they will bear the blame of this one. Yes, Donald Trump is not a “true” Republican. However, the “Greedy Old Party” GOP sold their soul to the Devil when they brought President Trump into their fold just so they could secure the majority in everything. Therefore, the Republican Party is guilty by association.
It’s time to reap what they sowed…
The Democratic Party will own the 2020 elections…as long as they don’t screw it up. They’ve already taken advantage of the situation. The now majority Democratic House of Representatives wasted no time in drafting/passing bills to end the impasse. Many say it’s nothing more than a political ploy. It probably is. However, it looks like the Democrats are doing something. While the Republicans sit on their asses doing nothing. Perception is everything. Perception is truth, even if it isn’t.
However, that’s not the point here…
Unfortunately, it feels like shutting down the federal government has become nothing more than yet one more ploy utilized by the closed-minded to try and get their selfish ways. This is wrong. A government shutdown should never be an option. It makes the United States of America look stupid…incompetent…incapable. What does it say to the world when arguably the greatest Democracy in the world can’t even keep their own government up and running? We as a people should be embarrassed when our federal government shuts down. The ignorant that support it should be embarrassed of themselves as well.
And that isn’t even the point here…
The point is federal government workers are the backbone of this country. Many are behind the scenes…unseen…unheard…doing the mundane things that keep this country operating safely and efficiently. The average American has no idea just how much federal employees impact their lives. Federal employees do not deserve to bear the brunt of the ineptness of our so called “leaders” in Washington D.C.
I believe if we are going to shut the federal government down, we should do it properly. First, anytime all or any part of the federal government shuts down, our “leaders” in Washington D.C. get furloughed as well and report to work without pay. After all, they are federal employees as well. If other federal employees aren’t getting paid, why should the idiots that caused the shutdown in the first place be paid?
Then, instead requiring “mission essential” federal workers to report to work, shut it completely down. No FAA, no TSA, no Border Patrol…nothing. Then let the chaos ensue. How many minutes…hours…do you think it would take for this country…the world… to come to a complete standstill? It’s only when every American is adversely impacted, that shutting down the federal government no longer becomes an option in the silliness that has come to define today’s American politics.
Naturally, we know this won’t happen. Our “leaders” in Washington D.C. would never vote themselves out of a paycheck. I mean…they have bills to pay dammit (apparently the federal workers that are currently being furloughed don’t)! As for shutting it down completely, we know that won’t happen either. Thankfully those mission essential employees that are forced to work without being paid have the moral compass and work ethic to do the right thing…unlike our “leaders” in Washington D.C.
Hopefully this latest federal government shutdown will come to a close sooner than later. I’d like to believe that lessons will be learned from this…but I know better. As our “leaders” in Washington D.C. continue to view compromise as a dirty word, it’s only a matter of when the next shutdown will occur. Once again, federal employees will pay the price for the ineptness of our so called “leaders” in Washington D.C.
I’d be smilin’ too if I was still getting paid!!
