The bogus fear of the dreaded federal government shutdown
If the federal government actually does shut down for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, will we even notice? Almost certainly not if recent history is a guide.
Steve Gilbert over at Sweetness & Light pulls up an AP story from Feb. 2011 when the last “dreaded” shutdown was “threatening” day-to-day life as we know it. For some reason, (hummm…) the AP story Gilbert links to is broken right now, but since it’s an AP story, it was syndicated and you can get to the Washington Post’s version.
Social Security checks would still go out. Troops would remain at their posts. Furloughed federal workers probably would get paid, though not until later. And virtually every essential government agency, like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, would remain open.
That’s the little-known truth about a government shutdown. The government doesn’t shut down.
Mail will be delivered. Banks remain open – even the Federal Reserve – and planes keep flying. What it comes down to is about one in four federal employees would get a paid vacation for the length of the shutdown, and the remainder would continue to go to work as normal. Certainly the paycheck itself would be delayed, but would you take a paid week off if they told you you would have to wait an extra week for your pay check? I would!
Gilbert sums up, and do go read his full post.
But bear in mind that the news media has been telling us for three years that Republicans are trying to fearmonger everyone about Obama-Care. Meanwhile, they have had no problem fearmongering about possible government shutdowns, ever since 1995.
You see, fearmongering over Obama-Care, which even top Democrats admit is a train wreck, is pure evil. But fearmongering over a government shutdown, that even if it happened (and it won’t) will amount to next to nothing, is responsible journalism.
9 Comments
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The site is not broken.
It’s just a tool to leverage support for government expansion based on fear.? I wonder if our own Dick Blumenthal, who is worth about $112 million, lives in a $3 million Greenwich home, collects $174,000 annually as a Senator as well as $47,000 from a state pension that is 57% funded knows what the term “austerity” means.
Correction: that would be a 51% funded pension.
Shut em down & shut em up!
Maybe the democrats are afraid that if the government did shut down not much would change? No one would notice. Eventually, the vox populi would raise the question of why we need such a large government that costs so much and incurs so much debt and . . .
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The democrats hate questions.
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Bien-pensent, I think you nailed it. The entrenched Senators and Representatives of both parties as well as all their sycophants and govt. workers are scared that the “uninformed voter” will find out only a tenth of the government is essential. As a note to the ridiculous ?Madame Pelosi, the cupboard is not bare, it is full of our money. We need to elect more like Cruz, Paul, Lee, and yes Rubio. We need to put McCain, John Boehner, McConnell and their ilk to pasture.
Yes!? Much like the sequester, most people wouldn’t even notice a gov’t shutdown, unless, of course, ?bama pulled the “no money for WH tours” trick and directed cuts to actually hurt people rather as opposed to federal workers.
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What are the odds?
Right on: if you were not affected by sequestration you would not have noticed. Duh.
That’s the point: who will notice, unless they force you to notice?? Even those affected will get back pay.? I think statist Dems have more to worry about given their unrequited love for big government.?? Which explains the “blame Republicans loudly” modus operandi.
Take a look at the last SEVENTEEN government shutdowns and why they occurred (http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/09/list-all-government-shutdowns).
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Now tell me this is “unprecedented”.