The Furlough Continues

The government shutdown is now officially the longest one ever on the books. This does not instill me with confidence in moving back to the US. In a Democracy, one person should not be able to hold the rest of the government, thousands of workers who need to feed their families and pay their bills, hostage. The damage is done. Saying they will get back pay for the time they were off isn't good enough for those that don't have enough money from day to day. Luckily, no major disasters have happened involving air travel or food safety, but who knows how long until something happens? Also, now that thousands of jobs are not considered as stable as a government job used to be, talent will move elsewhere. For people who wish there were less government in general, this is not the same thing. Just immediately ceasing functions instead of gradually downsizing has repercussions, even if they are not immediately obvious.

 This shutdown has been a national embarrassment. Hearing the president talk about it is even more embarrassing; he blames everyone else after he already declared he would take responsibility for it. Childish. The House has passed bills that would re-open the government and the other branches refuse to sign off on them. Again, it's hard to believe the blame is on the Democrats when the Republicans had full control for two years and didn't do anything, and now it is still their branches that won't sign off to re-open the government. The blame game keeps going round and round, and the American people all lose. 

I have several friends who are furloughed. Luckily, for now, they all seem to be able to make ends meet. But, for how long?