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Am I the only one confused here? It is a federal government shutdown! That’s what they’ve advertised from the beginning. But apparently, not everyone is going home. We’ve shut down the National Parks and a selected agency here and there—and left Washington pretty much alone! We should have known! There is no way on earth we could get that lucky!
It seems, even in closing, our fearless leaders got it backwards. Which had you rather see; a herd of iconic buffalo roaming through Yellowstone Park...or congress and the White House deciding what is “best” for us!
When the lumber company had that walkout back when I was a kid, everybody was out of work. It didn’t matter if you hauled logs, pulled on the green chain or was the first shift foreman, you didn’t get paid. Everybody went hungry. Now folks, that’s a shutdown!
Our government puts on a shutdown and they allow parts of the outfit to remain on the job. Their terminology is “not essential” versus “non-essential”. One group is out of luck, the other still goes to work everyday. It’s splitting hairs to the nth degree and, naturally, legislated in a shroud of gerrymandering gobbledygook.
That’s what these elected folks do. And we should be proud of them for how well they do it! There ain’t no other country even in their league. They can elaborate on the simple. Expound on the present. Postulate on the future. Blame the opponent. Praise the party. Straddle the fence. Serenade the benefactors. Appraise the political barometer. And unabashedly take credit for tax cuts, higher wages, universal health care, Mother’s Day, winning World War II, free Garth Brooks’ concerts...
Avoiding a total government shutdown (that would include them) ain’t no hill for this group.
They may not get paid immediately. But an assemblage that ultimately votes on their own salary will come up with the “right” plan. Money will be appropriated from somewhere. And it won’t take a congressional investigation to figure out who will ultimately foot this bill...
’Course, I kinda agree with Will Rogers, we need to be thankful that we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for.