Government Shutdown Accomplished Nothing, Other Than Hurting People
Not everything will go back to normal. The shutdown will have some lasting damage. For one thing, some federal contract employees wont get back pay. While Congress routinely approves back pay for federal workers during shutdowns, people who work for companies that provide services ― such as thousands of janitors and security officers who work in federal buildings ― dont receive the same consideration.
For another, millions of Americans will have to stretch their food budgets. The federal government ordered states to distribute Februarys food benefit payments several weeks early because of the shutdown. More than 38 million Americans receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and theyll now have to wait until March for their next payment. Some beneficiaries may have already spent the February allotment, thinking it was some kind of accidental bonus.
Hundreds of people in subsidized housing received eviction threats because nobody in the federal government could tell their landlords the program hadnt lapsed. One renter told a local TV station he would try to borrow money to make payments.
Some Transportation Security Administration workers may have taken new jobs. How many people want to take a position that often pays less than $40,000 per year that doesnt actually guarantee a regular paycheck?
When President Trump announced Friday that he would give up on his quest to make congressional Democrats support a border wall that he previously said Mexico would pay for, he threatened to shut down the government yet again if we dont get a fair deal from Congress.
But Trump has just proven that his fair deal strategy was totally ineffective ― except for disrupting thousands of peoples lives.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-shutdown-pointless-hurt-people_us_5c4b67e4e4b0e1872d438cb8