Politicians continue to get our money in salary and benefits while Joe and Jane Citizen suffer.
One of the the things Obungler and company shut down with the most recent tit-for-tat spat between political foes is the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.
Meanwhile, the pay checks continue to roll in for members of congress, the executive branch, and (probably) all the staffs.
What could have been sacrificed?
Six days-a-week mail delivery could be cut to 5 days-a-week. That probably should be done in any event, at least for residential customers.
Some military expenditures could be delayed; certainly payments to contractors who have projects overdue or that have gone over budget could be halted. Maybe the U.S. could forego a misadventure in the middle east – at least until we figure out which side, if any, is on OUR side.
Do we really need to patrol our border with Mexico? Any workers who cross over illegally will soon be given citizenship anyway, and apparently there is no stopping either guns or drugs. We also can reduce Customs and Immigration details at air and sea ports; terrorists pass through like water through a sieve since the spooks on one hand refuse to talk to the spooks on the other hand. Maybe FBI, CIA, NSA, and other spooks should be furloughed; they don’t seem to do their jobs anyway. 9-11 anyone? How about Benghazi?
Israel’s equivalent to the State Department went on strike and the government continued more or less normally. Maybe State could have a reduction in personnel for the duration. So it takes an extra two weeks for a passport; travelers can adjust.
Funny enough, the IRS has been shut down. Since that is one of the primary sources for picking the taxpayers’ pockets (robbing Peter the taxpayer to pay Paul the politician), it seems as if Obungler & Company is cutting off its collective nose in spite of itself. Is it the air in Washington or is it the water that leads our Dilbertian leadership in its peculiar ways?
This following the “sequester” and preceding the coming soon battle over raising the nation’s debt limit – again. Didn’t Obungler manage to do that last year? Failure, we are told, would mean the U.S. would be in default on its debts and the national credit score would be down the proverbial tube. As Americans, do we care?
Rather than raise – once again – the debt ceiling, Obungler & Company, he’s not in this alone you know, should look at where the budget can be trimmed.
Start with foreign aid. True, a lot of it has strings attached, strings that benefit the U.S. military-industrial complex so that the countries getting the aid must buy killing supplies from the likes of the Boeings, Littons, Northrop Grummans, Electric Boat, and GE-type organizations. Cancel membership in the U.N., consistently proven to be no friend of America.
Obungler closed the nations’ parks and furloughed the rangers. That was smart – like the IRS, the parks generate income and are a destination for many foreign tourists. Shortsightedness on a field of a starless night.
It seems our politicians, in all branches and of all parties, are determined that American will follow all the previous “powers” into second rate status.
The politicians' pettiness will make America a petty nation.
I’m glad I’m a geezer who knew America in a better time.
