Who’s getting shutdown? You may be next

The anxiety over a possible government shutdown this weekend does not seem to phase many people. I know the past shutdowns meant little to me. Of course, things are different now. A good portion, major portion, of my income comes from the government. And I have heard the stories.

One colleague spoke of being furloughed in the 1995 fiasco. He said it didn’t take long for the bills to pile up and “spin out of control.” The result was he had to file for bankruptcy. If a shutdown was to continue for awhile, then creditors themselves might see a little of the financial hurt those government employees and their families could experience.

The pain from a shutdown extends well into communities such as those that make their living off nearby national parks. Can you imagine whole towns having to close their doors while tourists stay away from shuttered major federally-run attractions?

I see the cable news talk show hosts joke about it. The high-minded legislators who say their constituents, read, voters, want severe cuts and don’t mind if they have to shut down the government to get it, must get off on such a power trip. Yes, we are the principled. We hold people’s lives in our hands and we only care if we get our way. Waaaaaahhhhhh! They are like spoiled children, only worse.

There is also a lot of talk that if federal workers are furloughed they will not be paid for their time off as in past go-rounds. That would mean, of course, that the anxiety and pain and suffering would go on and on. The worker bees are all some see. Not seen are their kids, trying to stay cool in school. The car payment might be missed.  The veterans going to college on VA benefits may not get their checks, nor the disabled vets who depend on their pension. And think of how many veterans are government workers? Our country cares for veterans? The hell you say.

One ponders if, the ultra-right get so drunk on their power trip, whose lives could they then hold in their hands once the federally-paid are sent back to work minus pay for their furlough? Oh, they wouldn’t dare mess with the private sector, some might say. But yes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

We all laugh about when a person says: “We’re from the government. We’re here to help.” But what if those who say that are your fiscally-prudent, anti-brown-skin, anti-union, pro-oligarchy, congressmen, who spout those Tea Party values the people who elected them love to hear?

Well, you”re on your own there.