You might or might not find it surprising that anytime there is a controversial event in Capitol Hill, somehow the same faces keep appearing front and center.
The looming of yet another U.S. Government Shutdown is all too real.
On Sunday ,October 1, 2023 the U.S. Government could once again shut down as the Republican-led House of Representatives had failed to come to a resolution. Yes, really… This is the 14th Time the U.S. Government has shut down since the 1980’s. And yes, both parties have been responsible for these shut downs before. And yes, each time this was also a huge deal!
I won’t delve to much on each reason for the previous shutdowns for this article, because it will be long enough just as it is. But what I will say is that regardless of the politics in Capitol Hill, it is our entire country who suffers when our elected representatives fail to work for the good of the people.
Here is a quick snapshot of the previous U.S. Government shutdowns for your reference:
20 NOV 1981 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 2 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
30 SEP 1982 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 1 day
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
17 DEC 1982 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
10 NOV 1983 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
10 NOV 1983 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
30 SEP 1984 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
03 OCT 1984 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 1 day
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
18 DEC 1987 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 1 day
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Democrats
05 OCT 1990 – Under President George H. W. Bush (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Democrats
13 NOV 1995 – Under President Bill Clinton (Democrat)
Shut down for 5 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Republicans
15 DEC 1995 – Under President Bill Clinton (Democrat)
Shut down for 21 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Democrats
30 SEP 2013 – Under President Barack Obama (Democrat)
Shut down for 16 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Democrats
19 JAN 2018 – Under President Donald Trump (Republican)
Shut down for 2 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Republicans
28 DEC 2018 – Under President Donald Trump (Republican)
Shut down for 34 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans/Democrats (Democrats won midterm elections)
Control of the Senate: Republicans
Next possible shutdown – 01 OCT 2023 – Under President Joe Biden (Democrat)
Shut down for (who knows how long as of 30SEP2023)
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Democrats
Let’s discuss about it.
What are your thoughts as you see these historical times? Regardless of what the issues are in the floor that leads to a shut down, these shut-downs are politically weaponized to force a particular political dissent to go through.
In other words we have to understand an entire fucking year was wasted as politicians have collectively failed to reach an agreement that is viable for the United States – the entire United States. And yes, usually these disagreements tend to cling onto some “wedge issues” that hold the entire country until the eleventh hour. Yes, holding the entire country hostage while these differences or compromises are reached. It is bad for the economy, it is bad for the people, and it is really bad for the rest of the federal government. Let’s explore more.
How do I know what I am talking about? Well, because I will be retiring from the U.S. Navy in a few months… and that implies that I have worked for the Federal Government for two decades. I’ve seen several shutdowns in my time in uniform. A few times, military members such as myself were spared in some previous actual and potential shut downs, but not always. Even if we do get “reimbursed” after Congress finally reaches an agreement, the damage is done in several ways.
First off, a lot of people working for the Federal Government (to include military families) do leave paycheck to paycheck. This puts a lot of strain on any person, especially if they have a family. For example, let’s say that a family cannot afford to pay their bills, what are they supposed to do? Some of the more cynical people not-directly affected by this would state that they should use a “credit card.” Which is also not a viable option, even if they have a credit card – for several reasons. I’ll mention a few. First off, because the money in our credit cars is not our money… anything charged in a credit card must be repaid. And we need money to repay that card… and a lot of those cards also charge interest. So that means pay the card and the interest. And for that you need actual money.
Another reason all too common are families who are already struggling. You might have met a few, and they probably have already charged their credit cards and are already paying interest. So if they have to add to that balance, their interest goes up, their debts goes up, and their credit score goes down – which incidentally further drives their interest up (having to pay even more), and that is if they are not already over their credit limit.
But there is another part that makes it even more insidious. Did you now that when a person gets paid in the federal government is AFTER they completed their work obligations? So for example, in the military we get paid twice per month. Usually at the beginning and mid-point of the month.
So, for example if I would have not received my paycheck at the end of this month – along all my brothers and sisters in uniform, that would have meant that we had already preformed our duties and responsibilities without pay. Fortunately, we did get paid for this end of the month (September) – but our paycheck for October is what will suffer.
To draw a parallel, it is not unlike walking off a restaurant without paying the bill after eating there. Even if you go after the fact to pay the bill, that does not negate the fact that it is at the very least an inconvenience to the restaurant and the staff.
Also, it is part of our contract to be paid, because on this planet you cannot live without a salary. But that is only one part of the problem when the government shuts down. Even if people are sent home because they cannot work without money, the entire country’s economy suffers. For example, a lot of contracts and other purchases needed for the function of government also get on hold.
You know who wins? The regimes who do not like America, those regimes are the ones who win when the U.S. Government shuts down. These adversarial nations will most definitely also use our failure to keep the Government open as a propaganda point to imply that the U.S. Government is not able to run routine operations. In case it was not obvious enough, that means that dangerous regimes will bolster as the “safe” method of governing a country. That should be a wake-up call to Capitol Hill.
And to be honest, some of those operations now scheduled to stall will also represent either a “show stopper,” or at the very least a “show delayer” to our posture in the world. But even if some segments of government didn’t quite stop the operations from occurring, they will still have sand on the gears of progress. Why? Because for operations to flow, it needs a lot moving parts already as part of the government. Some are obvious, some are less obvious but that does not mean that the unintended consequences won’t sprout everywhere. And what is more dangerous, is that those along with other hidden vulnerabilities will exacerbate other segments of our economy and the country at large.
You might be thinking, well I am not citing any specifics. I will in a bit, but you also have to realize that this puzzle is not just a few bullet points, instead is a gigantic gradient. That is why people are elected to represent us, so they and their staff can solve these complex puzzles in a way that will help ups all not destroy our lives if they fail to do so. That is why if you elect a moron to a seat in Congress, it can slow down the entire country, even if he/she (the moron elected) doesn’t realize they are part of the problem. Let’s see how that works.
Every shut down has a face behind it.
You don’t have to take my word for it. You can independently verify that by looking at the links below to refer at the bills the House of Representatives is supposed to be working on. Here is a quick Congress 101 – and how your elected officials are supposed to support the country.
- The House of Representatives introduces legislation: The Representatives with the help of their staffs introduce legislation. The U.S. Representatives and their staff are supposed to speak for their district constituents. Hence, they are required to introduce legislation that will voice the concerns of their constituents, and balance these concerns with what is best to for the rest of the country. These concerns are introduced through what is known as a “bill.” Some of these bills are very good, some are utter garbage. Yes, really… you can see it for yourself.
Check this link to see the all bills being proposed and the ones that passed
Bills This Week – Home (house.gov)
- The House of Representatives votes and debates: A debate is not supposed to be shit-show, it is supposed to be an intellectually driven process where the best ideas will raise to the top by holding each other’s feet to the fire. In other words, ensure that whatever the plan moving forward is ultimately good for the ENTIRE country, not just a particular segment of the population. Each representative will vote on the proposed bill. And yes, you can see how they (each Representative) voted – that is what is called as the “voting record.” So, if a politician of your devotion is telling you lies, you can fact-check them here. And you can also do the same regarding politicians you don’t particularly like.
Check this link to see the voting record for each U.S. Representative
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives – Votes
- The Senate approves or denies the bill before it goes to the President to sign it into law. In the event a bill passes, then they Senate will also debate and decide if it will make it to the U.S. President’s desk to be signed into law. The president then has the power to either sign the bill into law, or veto it. That would trigger other options, mainly send it back to Congress so they can try again.
Check this link to see the voting record for each U.S. Senator
U.S. Senate: Votes
These are all of course official sites that form part of the public record. Again you are more than welcome to use these resources in order to fact-check those politicians you like and those you dislike and see what is the truth behind what they say to your face on in front of the camera. The truth being what they (politicians) put on record as far as voting in regards to legislation. And yes, sometimes what they told you to your face and what their voting record states does not match. Surprise!
So to recap, the House of Representatives introduces a bill, debates it, and if it passes it moves to the Senate. The Senate debates the bill again and if it passes it goes to the U.S. President to sign into law. The President could sign and establish this law, or veto (not sign) the bill (and all that work could become pretty much just a waste of time). By the way the President needs a damn good reason to veto a bill.
So, understanding the process, we can clearly see what is going on at this moment. I said at the top of this section that usually a shut down has a name and a face behind it, which holds the entire country hostage. Where are we stuck right now? Glad you asked, it is still at the House of Representatives. Who is in charge of the House you ask? Well, the Speaker of the House is Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy.
If you looked at the voting record (either in the link I provided, or in C-SPAN, or any other outlet showing the official voting count), probably you noticed it that any legislation is divided by party lines. The Republicans right now hold the majority (however slim this time around) in the U.S. House of Representatives. And that means that the Democrats are pretty much powerless to pass any bills, because as the minority they will be voted out in the debate against the Republican majority .
But it gets more complex than that. The Republicans are themselves very divided in the house. There is a group that is known as the “MAGA” Republicans, who are very much aligned with Former President Trump’s rhetoric. What you might not know is that their proposed bill is flawed (to put it nicely, read it yourself) in the sense that it has a lot of language that it just so happens to be VERY beneficial to America’s adversaries.
I am not saying these Representatives are willingly trying to weaken the United States, what I am saying is that their staff should be better versed in how these proposals actually sets back our country in so many ways. I actually wrote a book about it – and I will announce the publishing date on this very site www.halflifecrisis.com when it comes out.
Meanwhile, these congressional staffs should really pay attention to the foreign and domestic policy, great power competition, and a lot more in order to advise their Boss (the Representative) not to destroy the country by mistake. Afterall, no matter how much you like or dislike a Representative, they are only one person, that is why they have a staff. Why am I saying this? Because a lot of Representatives make fools out themselves in the Congressional Chamber when they speak – missing a lot of facts. That is a failure on the staff not ensuring their Representative is ready to state their case and get it recorded in the pages of American History.
But in the meantime, please understand why I emphasize that these elected Representatives need be very well versed on how their power can affect the entire country, even if they don’t understand how. For example, this just happened. McCarthy instead of working for the people he did have a session over the long weekend further delaying the process to the brink of shutdown. And as recent as Thursday, the Republican majority House spent several hours on a non-productive impeachment inquire against the incumbent President Biden – with no evidence! Meanwhile the entire country is wondering if the country will shut down.
Spoiler alert, there is a bill already created by the Democrats that would keep our government open, and this is already pre-approved by the Democrat-led Senate, and the U.S. President stated he would sign it right away to prevent our government to shut down. I briefly explained before how the shut down actually affects PEOPLE, millions of Americans!
Further, there was another vote to extend the deadline for the Government to Shut down, and give enough wiggle room for the Republican-led House to unwedge their head off their ass so we can come with a solution that is not holding hostage millions of Americans and shutting our government.
Unsurprisingly, this option to keep to extend the deadline to help the dialog without destroying the lives of millions of people who will be affected directly if the government shut downs had a lot of support by both Democrats and Republicans… except for a few (21 in-fact). So, if the government does shut down, and we suffer all the terrible unintended consequences because of it, you can thank the following U.S. Representatives. And yes, you can use the sites I gave you to look at their voting record during their time in office.
All these are Republican Representatives and are in favor of Shutting Down the Government. They also voted on Bocking Funding to Keep the Government Open until the situation can resolved without making all the people who work for the government suffer and forced to work for free or being furloughed (of course Congress is exempt and will keep drawing a Salary, to include these 21 Representatives). And yes, they all so happened to be Republican, I would have also listed them if they were Democrats.
- (R) Andy Biggs – AZ
- (R) Dan Bishop – NC
- (R) Lauren Boebert – CO
- (R) Ken Buck – CO
- (R) Tim Burchett – TN
- (R) Eric Burlison – MO
- (R) Michael Cloud – TX
- (R) Eli Crane – AZ
- (R) Mat Gaetz – FL
- (R) Paul Gosar – AZ
- (R) Majorie Taylor Greene – GA
- (R) Wesley Hunt – TX
- (R) Nancy Mace – GA
- (R) Mary Miller – IL
- (R) Cory Mills – FL
- (R) Alexaner Mooney – VW
- (R) Barry Moore – AL
- (R) Troy Nehls – TX
- (R) Andy Ogles – TN
- (R) Matt Rosendale – MT
- (R) Keith Self – TX
So, if you or your loved ones suffer because of the upcoming Government Shutdown, you can thank these Representatives I listed above. Especially if they are in your own district and they affect your own people. And if you happen to receive any funding from the Federal government in the form of a salary, contracts or any other service that derives from the government and this becomes unavailable for the foreseeable future, you know who put you in that situation. Yes, there is a solution and it is ready to be signed, but the process won’t work unless people are willing to work together.
The reality on the ground.
It is easy to politicize something when we leave the people who suffer out of our minds. But the reality is a lot different on the ground for those who get affected. As a military member, we actually received some “guidance” on how to cope with this looming shut down. And we were supposed to communicate this forced policy our Sailors and provide them guidance. And the 14-page document essentially says “sucks to be you” if you have an essential role serving, you’re the U.S. in a civilian of military capacity. What do I mean by that?
To summarize very quickly, this government shutdown is forcing all our military members to work with no pay for the foreseeable future. Still work every day, and do all the usual sacrifices PLUS more work because of all the civilian people who will be furloughed and would provide any of the many supporting roles. So, yes military members will have to do MORE WORK WITH NO PAY, because a lot of deemed “less essential” civilian workers won’t be allowed to come to work.
A lot of those “less essential” workers will be either forced to take vacation days, or no get a paycheck at all. Because they are not allowed to work. Some would argue, “well at least they can find a temporary non-government gig” until the government opens.” Now, think about that for just one minute and think how stupid that argument is (by the way somebody did propose that idea out loud). Just imagine any of us essentially losing their job for now… but you don’t know how long this shut down will last. How can you even predict when you’re going to start for this gig, or if you will be forced to return to work because you are “more essential” but not get paid for it.
Meanwhile, if you work for the Government, how are you going to pay all your bills, or will you be forced to use your savings (if you have any – not everybody has savings) to hold on until the elected representatives stop playing games with our lives. Sure, there is supposed to be some payback for time lost (with many caveats), but the main problem is that financial obligations have a timeline, and if this timeline is disrupted it can create a lot of consequences. The gravity of each will depend on every person, and for some these will be very grave.
Very disturbingly, for us in the U.S. Navy – I was directed to ensure my Sailors knew about some resources while they are working for free. For example utilizing something called the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. Which is a charity organization that among other things gives interest free loans to Sailors and Marines for certain emergencies. Key word – LOANS, that means these have to be paid back. And this pot of money is also finite. But even if some Service Members can “defer” some of their payments for their mortgage or other bills a bit to the right, that means that when the bill comes due it is going to be a lot higher, and it will take a lot of “manual” coordination for every account.
Want examples? Sure: Utilities (water, electricity, gas, etc.), car payments, rent, mortgages, insurance, cell phone, subscriptions, internet, Home Owners Associations fees, etc. And that does not include all the other purchases we need to make anyway such as food, gas (for commuting), tolls, etc.
Now, think about all these Sailors and other Service Members deployed, or that are underway or doing whatever is it that we are assigned for the security of our Nation. They are not only asked to work for free… They are also asked to have their families to jump through hoops so they don’t get behind their bills, and that is still not guaranteed. Just think for a moment how insidious this entire situation is. And that is a very superficial view to the gigantic ramifications of this shut down. Now just imagine trying to coordinate all those bills while being away, it is exceedingly hard to do so, I know that for a fact.
Who wins with all this Political Theater?
I said it before, but it worth repeating. The only winners when the U.S. Government shut downs are the regimes who want to diminish American positive influence int eh world. When our elected leaders (in a Democracy) fail to work together and hold hostage the entire country’s population; even if this negatively affects segments of the population in different manners, it is a collective loss. This struggle is used as propaganda to bolster these adversarial regimes “message” to the rest of the world. Their main message is “we (insert adversarial nation) have shown we can do better than America, see, their political system does not work; we ain’t the ones shutting down.” Stuff like this help them bolster their authoritarian political style where any dissent or debate become a moot point.
I know this is more abstract than what meets the eye. And that is why politics, domestic and foreign policy are complex topics. That is why we trust elected Representatives to be very smart and well-prepared people so they are not just doing political theater and letting unintended consequences to percolate under their watch.
This message was obviously lost on the 21 Republican Representatives I listed. I have been following their record for a long time now. But they did not my help to be identified as the people who are de-facto shutting our government. Their names are forever recorded in the American history archives. It was THEIR decision to support those dangerous policies that are affecting millions of people. Their legacy is going to translate to the struggle that millions of people will have to endure because they are short-sighted. They are killing an entire forest to save a single tree. Don’t take my word for it, read the bill they are supporting yourself. Be intellectually honest, and you’ll come to the same conclusion most people have come to.
Meanwhile, it seems that Republican Representative Ken McCarthy, as speaker of the House could find himself to be be forced to support a Democratic introduced bill. But there is more… if he does that – the same cadre of Republicans who are shutting down the government are threatening McCarthy to force him out of the role of Speaker of the House. What is McCarthy going to choose? Will he choose the well-being of the country or cling to his fragile grip to the House or Representatives. If it was a strong grip, we would not be having this conversation. We will find out for sure what will McCarthy choose… the country or his current position.
I will write another article as a follow up to the government shutdown. Sadly as I type this, the writing is on the wall, coming on tomorrow Sunday, October 1, 2023 -which is the beginning of the fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Government will shut down for the 15th time as a political weapon that takes all federal government workers to include the military. Except for Congress – yes, the House Representatives and Senators will continue getting paid while your military and every essential civilian worker will have to work for free. Yet the decision for them not to get paid started by these 21 Republican Representatives I listed. If you didn’t know, now you know. HLC