Shutdown? What Shutdown?
The ritual government shutdown is the ultimate in fake political news
So it appears we’re going to have a “government shutdown” by the end of the day today. I believe Republicans, for a change, hold the high cards this time, though the media will try to blame Republicans anyway, which will distract them from blaming the Jews for about 15 minutes. I’ll leave it to all the other analysis to game out how the political pressures will unfold.
Why “government shutdown” in scare quotes above? Because, as I have pointed out repeatedly over on Power Line several times over the years (here, here, and here, for example), most government in the United States goes on uneffected:
Think back to past government shutdowns: Were your local schools still open? Did your local police still patrol the streets, and were your state and local courts still open and functioning? For that matter, did you still get your mail delivered? (Yes you did, in case you have forgotten.) The point is, there are something like 50,000 government units in America, ranging from your state governments down to the local mosquito abatement district. Although the federal government is the largest government unit by dollar terms, it is only one among our 50,000 government jurisdictions, many of which are more important to our day-to-day lives than the federal government is. In fact, even a federal government “shutdown” doesn’t mean no federal government at all (kind of like Prohibition that way); Social Security checks still get sent out, and other “essential” services, like our military in the field, continue.
I’m hoping this time perhaps Trump and congressional Republicans will hew to what I like to call the “Gramm Proviso”: Back in 1995 then-Senator Phil Gramm said that Republicans made was opening the government back up again.
The truth is that government shutdowns have become an increasing feature of our “gridlocked”* politics because both parties have rigged it such that the shutdown is as painless as possible for most Americans, by excluding from shutdowns most of the things the federal government does that affects large numbers of citizens. If a continuing resolution impasse really resulted in Social Security checks not going out, Veterans hospitals to close up, air traffic grinding to a halt because the FAA control towers (which should be privatized as they are in Canada, but never mind) shut down, and our military not getting paid, the people would likely not stand for it and take retribution against both parties at the ballot box. Our current mode of government shutdowns is the ultimate in Washington kabuki theater.
* I also always put “gridlock” in scare quotes because, contrary to the media-academia-complex, gridlock is good—it’s the next best thing to having constitutional government.
If Trump actually follows through and dumps a few hundred thousand do nothing drones off the payroll I’ll happily watch another episode of kabuki theater.
I was personally and deeply affected as as private citizen by the Government Shutdown! of 2013. I was in Hawaii on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, especially to visit volcanoes and other natural wonders in the National Parks . . . when Obama in his petulance shut down the National Parks as one of very few changes in the status quo ante. But for the 2025 shutdown I would pay good money to travel and stand in front of the farthest distance National Park from my home knowing the gates would be closed . . . as long as "non-essential" government personnel were fired instead of getting the paid vacation of past shutdowns.