The Wall. The Shutdown

[Rucker61]

From ASA email:

You cut me real deep, Shrek.

[hollohas]

https://babylonbee.com/news/with-gov...heir-own-lives

U.S. With the government shutdown in effect, life has felt incomplete for many Americans. Everything is just too easy it's boring, said restaurant owner Gloria Morgan, "and I realized it's because we're missing an essential challenge in life: soulless bureaucrats posing arbitrary rules on us."

One of the primary functions of the government is to ignorantly muck around in the business of others, but the shutdown has hampered that. Thus citizens have been forced to try to fill that void themselves. "Today I just suddenly decided large sodas weren't allowed, said Morgan. It was an annoying, pointless obstacle the whole day, it was like the government was still around."............

[CS1983]

You cut me real deep, Shrek.

I don't quite know what that means -- a reoccurring problem of mine.

[Singlestack]

From ASA email:

I have a Rugged Obsidian 45 in jail, so this will probably affect me. However, not all bleak since my private range/FFL has possession of it and I can shoot it there when I visit.

[buffalobo]

Bingo! Over 5 years they took almost $20k from us over a mistake they made. We did get it back...without the ability to charge the IRS interest and penalties like they did to us.

I hold the IRS in the same regard as the TSA. They're government sanctioned criminals.

Way too high of regard.

[Rucker61]

I don't quite know what that means -- a reoccurring problem of mine.

[TheGrey]

I have mixed feelings on these never ending "Government Shutdowns"...........

On one side it makes me sick to think that the Congress, President and Executive Staff can't get all of the budget stuff hammered out LONG before a shutdown is even needed. C'MON people that is your fricken job!!! Get your job done competently like the rest of the working force in the nation or be fired. I guarantee that this budget bickering, shutdowns, and whatever else tied to it wouldn't happen if there was a policy that stated that for every Hour the government is "Shutdown" 1 random congressman is fired then immediately thrown into a wood chipper. Put all of their names in the hat and simply keep drawing names and feeding them to the wood chipper until they quit jacking around and get it resolved. If that didn't motivate them properly to get the job done it would at least thin the herd that already needs thinning.

The other side of the coin has me feeling very little empathy for the government employees bitching about not getting paid during the shutdown. Government shutdowns delaying peoples pay are nothing new and have happened many times in the past. The current shutdown is also guaranteed to not be the last. These shutdowns WILL happen and employees need to account for that reality happening. Having a "Here it goes again" savings account would be a mandatory requirement if I worked for the government. I also want to point out that these shutdowns usually happen around the same time every year so its not like you don't see it coming either. I get it, adulting is hard. But that is just part of being an adult. The other night I seen a middle aged women on the news whining about not being able to pay her mortgage because of this government shutdown then also whining about having to use their vacation money for the mortgage. Are you SERIOUS???!!! Grow up and be responsible already!!! You have money to pay your mortgage so pay it. Then you hear about Government workers filing for unemployment after only 2 weeks of the government being shutdown. I guess moochers gotta mooch.

Moocher?! Since when does working any career mean that it's okay to have your pay suspended, jeopardizing your credit rating, just as you've implied that they deserve as much- all because they work for the government?

There are people on this board that are affected by this event. In 2013, we were in some real difficulty with the furlough. You may not see that there are real people affected by this ridiculous tantrum by the governments. Or you may not want to see.

It's a shame that compassion can be such a rare commodity.

[hurley842002]

Moocher?! Since when does working any career mean that it's okay to have your pay suspended, jeopardizing your credit rating, just as you've implied that they deserve as much- all because they work for the government?

There are people on this board that are affected by this event. In 2013, we were in some real difficulty with the furlough. You may not see that there are real people affected by this ridiculous tantrum by the governments. Or you may not want to see.

It's a shame that compassion can be such a rare commodity.

I've learned a lot about people recently, even folks on this forum. I was going to respond to Cha-lee's post, but it was going to be in a way that would have gotten me a time out (at a minimum), so I ignored him.

I've learned there is no compassion for those that might be struggling due to not being paid for work being done, if you don't have money saved in case the government decides to try and screw you over, then to hell with you, never mind any number of circumstances that could contribute to not having money saved, you are just automatically considered to be irresponsible financially.

I could give several examples of co-workers of mine, friends of mine, that are in a rough spot coming up real soon if the government doesn't open, but I'm not going to, because some asshat will post a rebuttal on how they should have had a buffer (not even knowing their situation). Hell, I'M going to be hurting if this thing drags on too long.

[DavieD55]

[CS1983]

I've learned a lot about people recently, even folks on this forum. I was going to respond to Cha-lee's post, but it was going to be in a way that would have gotten me a time out (at a minimum), so I ignored him.

I've learned there is no compassion for those that might be struggling due to not being paid for work being done, if you don't have money saved in case the government decides to try and screw you over, then to hell with you, never mind any number of circumstances that could contribute to not having money saved, you are just automatically considered to be irresponsible financially.

I could give several examples of co-workers of mine, friends of mine, that are in a rough spot coming up real soon if the government doesn't open, but I'm not going to, because some asshat will post a rebuttal on how they should have had a buffer (not even knowing their situation). Hell, I'M going to be hurting if this thing drags on too long.

Here's the thing:

Only those who are "essential" are working right now. This is an AMAZING opportunity to ID and cut the fat off of everything. Then in the future, once truly essential departments and personnel are ID'd, they should be funded like the DOD and others are so that this doesn't happen. The rest? Well they can go away entirely (IRS and BATFE to name a few, since they aren't actually essential and represent unconstitutional "laws", along with the other obviously non-essential groups). From there, those functions can either go back to the states like they should be, or if they shouldn't exist at all and represent a mere symptom of government largesse, they go away entirely. If there's an actual need for their "services", some private business will step in and profit and it will be an entirely mutual relationship, rather than the giant government leech that currently exists.

But there's also another reality: the government shouldn't be screwing anyone over. Moreover, there shouldn't be ANY Federal agencies as they exist today outside of DOD (which IS a national function), but cooperative state efforts if such a need even exists.

If you want to stop the problem, you gotta take away the problem starter: government overreach.