Let’s call this shutdown what it is: a national embarrassment. Once again, Congress has failed to do its most basic job — fund the government — and, once again, federal workers are being turned into bargaining chips in a high-stakes game of political chicken. This time, Senator Ron Johnson (R–Wis.) tried to do something practical.…
When Paychecks Become Pawns
According to reports, the White House has floated the idea that furloughed federal workers might not automatically receive back pay when this shutdown finally ends. You’d think that in a country that can send billions overseas at the drop of a hat, paying our own employees would be the easy part. Yet somehow, common sense…
Subsidies or Shutdown: When Virtue Signaling Becomes a Budget Strategy
Well, the game of chicken ended with neither side swerving. The government is shut down, and Democrats and Republicans are blaming each other with some impressively theatrical finger-pointing. If you’ve been following the news — and let’s be honest, how could you avoid it with every headline screaming “SHUTDOWN” in 72-point font? — you know…