by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday Donald (the font of all stupid) Trump threatened Democratic negotiators with a government shutdown that would last for months or even years. The big, orange, petulant child was prepared to hold his breath until the country expired in order to get funding for his beloved wall. This is day fifteen - or sixteen - of the Trump government shutdown, and so far it has not really inconvenienced his miscreant base, but as things drag on it will likely disrupt the lives of many individuals - including Trump's polluted sea of red-capped hillbillies on whom his political power rests.
This morning I listened to a fairly reliable news source - National Public Radio - as its newscasters recited a list of government activities that would begin to be impacted if the shutdown drags on - and a couple caught my attention. The current impasse was deliberately designed not to have much impact on the military, and it was also structured so that it would not interfere with social security payments and the delivery of medical care through Medicare and Medicaid. Those are things that have the potential to make people angry.
It also kept other things going that are fairly necessary in a booming economy - like air travel. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials, the good people who keep our nation's airports running, were told to go to work, without pay, or face being fired. So most went to work anticipating a short-term break in pay that would be reimbursed once the kerfuffle was over. But day fifteen - or is it sixteen? - means that they are now in their third week without pay - a circumstance that could wreck some families. Today's news is that many TSA officials are beginning to bite back at the hand that used to feed them - and are calling in sick. For the rest of us that will equate to longer lines at airports and slower service.
Many thanks, DJT, for causing weary travelers to spend even more time walking around on nasty airport floors in our stocking feet!
NPR said that the extended shutdown will soon result in a stoppage with the food stamp program - a primary food source for many Americans. My hungry neighbors who voted for Trump en masse are going to find shopping much more difficult without their beloved EBT cards. When it boils down to a choice between drugs, alcohol, tobacco and feeding the kids, well . . . God help the kids!
Another thing that the NPR reporters said would be impacted was the Internal Revenue System and its ability to issue refunds in a timely manner. We are now entering tax refund season, and my good neighbors, many of whom appear never to work, still manage to score tax refunds each year - and those refunds are a very big deal - funding a springtime shopping spree that is every bit as anticipated and as welcomed as the Christmas season. Sometimes, in fact, the tax refunds are used to pay off the excesses of the previous winter's holiday shopping.
Screwing with tax refunds is going to be a mighty big deal out where I live!
It is all so painfully obvious that even Donald John Trump will have it figured out soon. An extended government shutdown, even a partial one, is going to start hitting real people really hard.
MAGA caps may be fine fashion statements, but you can't eat them - and pissed-off, hungry people aren't just going to lay down and die peacefully when there is food to be had in the kitchens of Mar-a-Lago and the fine restaurants of Manhattan. Keep the government shut down long enough, Fat Boy, and it will eventually impact you!
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday Donald (the font of all stupid) Trump threatened Democratic negotiators with a government shutdown that would last for months or even years. The big, orange, petulant child was prepared to hold his breath until the country expired in order to get funding for his beloved wall. This is day fifteen - or sixteen - of the Trump government shutdown, and so far it has not really inconvenienced his miscreant base, but as things drag on it will likely disrupt the lives of many individuals - including Trump's polluted sea of red-capped hillbillies on whom his political power rests.
This morning I listened to a fairly reliable news source - National Public Radio - as its newscasters recited a list of government activities that would begin to be impacted if the shutdown drags on - and a couple caught my attention. The current impasse was deliberately designed not to have much impact on the military, and it was also structured so that it would not interfere with social security payments and the delivery of medical care through Medicare and Medicaid. Those are things that have the potential to make people angry.
It also kept other things going that are fairly necessary in a booming economy - like air travel. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials, the good people who keep our nation's airports running, were told to go to work, without pay, or face being fired. So most went to work anticipating a short-term break in pay that would be reimbursed once the kerfuffle was over. But day fifteen - or is it sixteen? - means that they are now in their third week without pay - a circumstance that could wreck some families. Today's news is that many TSA officials are beginning to bite back at the hand that used to feed them - and are calling in sick. For the rest of us that will equate to longer lines at airports and slower service.
Many thanks, DJT, for causing weary travelers to spend even more time walking around on nasty airport floors in our stocking feet!
NPR said that the extended shutdown will soon result in a stoppage with the food stamp program - a primary food source for many Americans. My hungry neighbors who voted for Trump en masse are going to find shopping much more difficult without their beloved EBT cards. When it boils down to a choice between drugs, alcohol, tobacco and feeding the kids, well . . . God help the kids!
Another thing that the NPR reporters said would be impacted was the Internal Revenue System and its ability to issue refunds in a timely manner. We are now entering tax refund season, and my good neighbors, many of whom appear never to work, still manage to score tax refunds each year - and those refunds are a very big deal - funding a springtime shopping spree that is every bit as anticipated and as welcomed as the Christmas season. Sometimes, in fact, the tax refunds are used to pay off the excesses of the previous winter's holiday shopping.
Screwing with tax refunds is going to be a mighty big deal out where I live!
It is all so painfully obvious that even Donald John Trump will have it figured out soon. An extended government shutdown, even a partial one, is going to start hitting real people really hard.
MAGA caps may be fine fashion statements, but you can't eat them - and pissed-off, hungry people aren't just going to lay down and die peacefully when there is food to be had in the kitchens of Mar-a-Lago and the fine restaurants of Manhattan. Keep the government shut down long enough, Fat Boy, and it will eventually impact you!
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