Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
It looks like we’re on pace for the longest government shutdown in history, and President Trump says he’ll keep the shutdown going for months or years if he has to.
I’m not in the habit of taking Donald Trump at his word. Last month, he told Sen. Chuck Schumer, “I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it.” Less than two weeks later, he was tweeting about the #SchumerShutdown.
I do, however, think the president is partially right. The shutdown might be months-long. I don’t see it being years-long, because we’ll see the months-long impacts creep up.
Take the Transportation Security Administration, which is currently working without pay with a promise of backpay when the shutdown ends. After a few months, there won’t be any TSA screeners. The ones who are there will leave for a job that pays them, and nobody’s going to apply for a job with “Payday TBD.”
I have no idea if air travel would flourish or falter without TSA, but that’s far from the only impact the longer the shutdown goes on.
The Coast Guard is in the same situation. And as anybody who’s ever needed the Coast Guard can tell you, when you need the Coast Guard you REALLY need the Coast Guard.
But wait, there’s more. What happens when John and Jane Doe don’t get the tax refunds they include in their budget? What’s the longterm impact to the populace of Washington, D.C., where not everybody’s in Congress but 1 in 10 people have a federal job? Eventually, creditors don’t get paid and people don’t buy as many products, businesses cut employees to offset the sales drops, a new wave of creditors don’t get paid, etc. It wouldn’t take years for this to happen, as many Americans are already a few missed paychecks from devastation and are carrying pretty high debt ratios.
The shutdown could end pretty quickly if Congress acted as an equal and independent branch and not a rubber stamp to the executive office. The newly-seated House of Representatives just passed legislation to fully fund all agencies except Homeland Security, which would be funded for a month to allow further negotiation.
That measure could pass the Senate, because a few weeks ago it did pass the Senate. It passed 100-0. The only thing that’s changed since then is President Trump suddenly deciding to tie everything to his wall.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it’s a waste of time to send something to the president that he’s going to veto. Either he forgot those times the Senate sent President Obama bills to repeal Obamacare, or he doesn’t care.
The only question left is, are there enough independent members of Congress to override a veto and govern for a country where most citizens don’t want a border wall, and certainly don’t want the government shut down as a bargaining chip for it?
Well, there’s also this one. Isn’t Mexico going to pay for this thing, like the president said on numerous occasions?
I think the answer, unfortunately, is no to both.
Kevin Wilson is editor of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at:
