The federal government of the United States of America has been closed for 40 days. This ongoing shutdown already set the record as the longest in history, and it is still going. Approximately 670,000 federal employees remain furloughed while another 730,000 continue working without pay. Those of us working in the latter category are known by a handful of buzzwords: “critical”, “essential”, and my new favorite, “excepted”. It means, generally, that our work involves the safety of human life or the protection of property and must continue even without funding. An important distinction here is that the government considers the work as being important, not the people performing it.
The three-quarters of a million unpaid government workers who keep getting up and going to the office every day to keep this country afloat, some at the risk of our own safety, do it without compensation because we still believe in our government and the people it serves – even if the same institution and populace no longer believe in us. It’s not the money; many of us would do what we do for free because we love it that much. The problem is, we can’t. Federal government employees have bills to pay, just like the rest of America. We already live or own property in some of the most expensive cities in the United States. Being excepted from furlough does not make us excepted from the other woes of life such as inflation, health ailments, unexpected repair costs, or debt.
I know what you’re thinking, because those of us in government hear it every time there is a shutdown: “Not my problem.” And maybe when the federal buildings are shuttered for only a few days, you’re right. But after a month in, the whole country is feeling it. Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed as we move closer to the holiday season. Nearly 42 million people won’t receive their usual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to help pay for groceries. The 24 million Americans using the notorious and troubled Affordable Care Act are looking at expiring healthcare subsidies. Services such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will continue to get funded as usual but many of the people managing these programs are furloughed and the ancillary functions associated with them, i.e. application processing, error correction, account issues, etc. may be severely delayed. Even in the short term, this unprecedented government shutdown is affecting all of us.
The 1.4 million federal workers not being paid are in turn not spending money. Some estimates believe at least two-thirds of Americans were already living paycheck to paycheck prior to the government shutdown. Millions of people across the country are eliminating what little discretionary spending they may have had prior to the political infighting. You might not think any of this has to do with you, but current estimates are forecasting economic losses of $15 billion for each week the federal government is closed. That is our economy, for the whole country. We all share it. So yes, this shutdown absolutely affects you and your children. And it will continue to, long after the government is reopened.
The rest of the world hasn’t shutdown just because the U.S. government has. The FBI foiled a terrorist plot that almost unfolded in our country on Halloween. We have people from numerous agencies on the ground in the Caribbean assisting in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, the third-most intense storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. Examples to numerous to list exist in every state and all over the world. All being performed by patriots, for free. These are thoughts to keep in mind during the upcoming Veterans Day and Thanksgiving holidays. Think about the last 40 days the next time you vote. Our country does not run itself.
The Dark Passport 