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Lester Cox
I can’t help but laugh—and groan—at the absurdity of it. A “clean” continuing resolution, they tell us. Keeps the government open until November. Simple, right? But instead of a one-paragraph memo, Congress gifts us 24 pages of legal spaghetti. Honestly, you could boil the whole thing down to: “Keep spending what we’ve been spending until November. Signed, Congress.” That’s maybe 50 words. Tops.
Meanwhile, our troops—who actually are essential—get the privilege of working without pay. Congress, of course, keeps its paychecks rolling in right on schedule. Nothing like leading by example, huh?
Then there’s the furloughed worker routine. We send people home, tell them they’re “non-essential,” and then when it’s over, cut them a check for not working. Voilà—an extra week or two of taxpayer-funded vacation. In the private sector, that would get you fired. In government? It’s tradition.
And let’s not forget the “non-essential” label itself. If they’re truly non-essential, why are they on the payroll at all? And if they are essential, why are they sent home? Only in Washington can words mean everything and nothing at the same time.
At the end of the day, this is how government operates: if any business ran like this, they’d be bankrupt. Of course, the government is bankrupt—except for that handy little printing press they keep running.
So here we sit, watching the same old play. Shutdowns, CRs, 24-page nothing-burgers, politicians who never miss a paycheck, and taxpayers left holding the bag. Same circus. Same clowns. Different year.
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