by Pa Rock
Veteran of the Last Shutdown
Yesterday Donald Trump celebrated the one-year anniversary of his first elected job by presiding over a federal government that was shuttered, out-of-order, shut down - a situation brought on largely by his fundamental lack of leadership abuility. Could there be a more moronic, yet apropos, culmination to year one of the Trump debacle?
Speaking as someone who lived through the last government shutdown back in 2013 as a federal employee, I thought this might be a good opportunity to share some of my memories of that event and perhaps shed some light on what a shutdown really amounts to.
2013 was a hard year for me. I had gone through a major heart surgery that spring, an event which, although covered by my insurance, still left me with many deductibles and surprise payments to deal with, not to mention the loss of substantial amount of "sick leave" time, days which I had planned on being able to sell back to the government on the occasion of my retirement the following year. I was well into the mode of saving every available penny in anticipation of that retirement.
And then the shutdown came along.
My civilian boss at Luke Air Force Base was also a retired military veteran. When it became apparent that the shutdown was actually going to happen, I went to him in a panic. From the reports I saw on the news and heard around the base, it meant that I was likely to be sent home for the duration of the shutdown, without pay, and not earning any time toward retirement.
"Calm down," Jim assured me. "There is nothing to worry about." He then explained that the military would keep right on operating, shutdown or not. Some civilians, he said, would be deemed "mission essential" and paid to remain at their posts. Others, the "non-essentials," would be sent home. I would be in the second category.
That did nothing to reassure me, so I pressed on. "What about my pay?" I blubbered.
Again he told me not to worry. "Non-essentials" would get a vacation, and after it was over Congress would revisit the matter and insure that all employees who had been laid off would get their back pay for the surprise vacations.
And that is exactly what happened. The "essential" employees worked and got paid for their time, and the rest of us, the ones who sat home and relaxed during the break, also got paid.
From the military point of view, it was a phony shutdown, all smoke and mirrors - and that is exactly what will happen this time. In fact Congress went to great pains before the shutdown to let Americans know that it would not impact the military or the sending out of social security checks.
There are shutdowns and then there are shutdowns - and the U.S. military does not shut down. A nation with an undependable military would impact the bottom line of our most important citizens - the large corporations and billionaires - political donors with whom Congress will not mess.
One thing that did stick with me regarding the last government shutdown was the very large numbers of government civilians on base who were deemed "non-essential" - four out of every five at a minimum. If that many folks at every U.S. military base aren't "essential" to the mission, why are they hanging around drawing paychecks?
Some may even be closeted Democrats.
It almost smacks of being a government welfare program.
The whole situation sounds like something the "fair and balanced" bottle blondes at Fox News should investigate.
(Note to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell: If you layoff the air traffic controllers during this phony government shutdown, you can start sending my social security checks to the islands. I will be residing in a tent on Waikiki Beach until the planes start flying again! Aloha!)
Veteran of the Last Shutdown
Yesterday Donald Trump celebrated the one-year anniversary of his first elected job by presiding over a federal government that was shuttered, out-of-order, shut down - a situation brought on largely by his fundamental lack of leadership abuility. Could there be a more moronic, yet apropos, culmination to year one of the Trump debacle?
Speaking as someone who lived through the last government shutdown back in 2013 as a federal employee, I thought this might be a good opportunity to share some of my memories of that event and perhaps shed some light on what a shutdown really amounts to.
2013 was a hard year for me. I had gone through a major heart surgery that spring, an event which, although covered by my insurance, still left me with many deductibles and surprise payments to deal with, not to mention the loss of substantial amount of "sick leave" time, days which I had planned on being able to sell back to the government on the occasion of my retirement the following year. I was well into the mode of saving every available penny in anticipation of that retirement.
And then the shutdown came along.
My civilian boss at Luke Air Force Base was also a retired military veteran. When it became apparent that the shutdown was actually going to happen, I went to him in a panic. From the reports I saw on the news and heard around the base, it meant that I was likely to be sent home for the duration of the shutdown, without pay, and not earning any time toward retirement.
"Calm down," Jim assured me. "There is nothing to worry about." He then explained that the military would keep right on operating, shutdown or not. Some civilians, he said, would be deemed "mission essential" and paid to remain at their posts. Others, the "non-essentials," would be sent home. I would be in the second category.
That did nothing to reassure me, so I pressed on. "What about my pay?" I blubbered.
Again he told me not to worry. "Non-essentials" would get a vacation, and after it was over Congress would revisit the matter and insure that all employees who had been laid off would get their back pay for the surprise vacations.
And that is exactly what happened. The "essential" employees worked and got paid for their time, and the rest of us, the ones who sat home and relaxed during the break, also got paid.
From the military point of view, it was a phony shutdown, all smoke and mirrors - and that is exactly what will happen this time. In fact Congress went to great pains before the shutdown to let Americans know that it would not impact the military or the sending out of social security checks.
There are shutdowns and then there are shutdowns - and the U.S. military does not shut down. A nation with an undependable military would impact the bottom line of our most important citizens - the large corporations and billionaires - political donors with whom Congress will not mess.
One thing that did stick with me regarding the last government shutdown was the very large numbers of government civilians on base who were deemed "non-essential" - four out of every five at a minimum. If that many folks at every U.S. military base aren't "essential" to the mission, why are they hanging around drawing paychecks?
Some may even be closeted Democrats.
It almost smacks of being a government welfare program.
The whole situation sounds like something the "fair and balanced" bottle blondes at Fox News should investigate.
(Note to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell: If you layoff the air traffic controllers during this phony government shutdown, you can start sending my social security checks to the islands. I will be residing in a tent on Waikiki Beach until the planes start flying again! Aloha!)
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