Let’s Stop Calling it a Government Shutdown

Rachel Alexander Posted: Jan 22, 2018

The more government “shutdowns” that take place in recent years, the more people realize they’re not really shutdowns. They’re merely called that to make the other political party look bad. Urgent services aren’t curtailed, and even non-urgent services and landmarks like public monuments are often kept open through creative ways. 

 

This latest government shutdown – which should really be called a partial government slowdown – threatens to withhold funding for the low-income children’s healthcare program CHIP. Republicans included its funding in a Continuing Resolution that would keep the government temporarily funded, as an incentive for Democrats to vote for the CR. Democrats complained that Republicans were using poor children as a pawn. But the reality is there was never any danger of the funding going away. Individual states can scramble and come up with temporary funding until a federal funding bill is passed.

 

Congress got into this current situation due to Democrats’ feigned outrage over Trump allegedly calling countries like Haiti a profane word during a meeting with Democrats, where they insisted on including an expansive version of DACA in the forthcoming budget bill. However, Republicans in the room say Trump never used the term. Democrats seized on the opportunity, refusing to agree to a budget compromise unless Trump expanded DACA status to countries like Haiti. They wanted to make Trump look racist and Republicans look bad for a government shutdown. Trump refused to expand DACA, so Republicans were stuck at the last minute coming with a short-term funding CR that would last until February, when further negotiations could take place. Most Democrats refused to vote for the CR this past week, resulting in the so-called shutdown.......To Read More....

My Take - Let's understand this - the government is still collecting enormous amounts of money every hour of the day.  The reality is - no government never shuts down unless it's overthrown, and then another government runs everything.  Rachel is right " they’re not really shutdowns."