Why You Shouldn’t Worry About a Federal Shutdown on Friday

Frightening Friday

Ah, the drumbeat of worry over shutting down our wonderful federal gummint!

Poor g-man souls…  it’s “scary.” They might get locked out of the federal building, unable for days on end to place the yellow-tinted papers in the yellow basket, or the blue-tinted papers in the blue basket.  Unable even to play solitaire on the computer screen, once the right-colored papers are all in the right-colored baskets.

And those flinty Congress-bubbas may not give them back pay for the work they don’t do.  Alas.

I begin by thinking of all those oil workers along the Gulf of Mexico, “locked out” of their offshore drilling jobs for the past year or so, by the total moratorium on drilling permits. (OK, a few tokens here and there.) Yep, ask the folks at Seahawk Drilling, which just got sold in a bankruptcy sale.  It’s no fun to get locked out.

Oh well, back to the government shutdown…Too bad that the Democrat-controlled Congress didn’t pass a budget last summer…before the 2011 fiscal year kicked in on October 1, which was 5 weeks or so before the election that changed the political dynamic.

Too bad that the Democrat-controlled Congress didn’t pass a budget last November or December, during the lame duck session — when the votes were there — but the worthies were too busy passing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation and other such matter that’s so vital to the future of the republic.

So now the affected government workers are worried that post-Friday, the gravy train grinds to a halt.

No mo’ gravy! Yep, on a personal level, that sucks. Paychecks are nice. No argument from me on that narrow point of life.

But then again, a stable, growing, productive economy is nice too. Balanced books are nice. Responsible governance is nice. Humility in public affairs is nice. Understanding that the best form of politics is good, efficient government? That’s very nice.

On a personal level, it’s “scary” to me to ponder the exploding expenditures of the feds. Budgets and cost structures that NEVER go down, in good times or bad.

It scares me to think of the deficit spending, the devaluation of the dollar, the inflation in prices for goods, the lack of investment across the economy because of distorted tax policies, the strangle-hold that government unions have on public discourse.

It scares me to think of the demagoguery coming out of the White House, and the Democrat caucus in the Senate & House — the distortions of truth: “The researchers will put down their test tubes and stop seeking the cure for cancer.” Sheesh! A few days or weeks, until Congress hashes out some budget cuts? And therefore it’s the end of the line for scientific research? Gimme a break, you LSOS! [Lying Sack of Stuff—ed.]

It scares me to think of how many politicians’ solution to the national problem is to make me work longer and harder… for them. Really, who the hell are THEY, to tell MOI that I have to put more skin into the game that they’ve rigged against me. Screw ‘em.

Yes, it scares me to think of what a mess things become when bubbles pop, including government — the final frontier.

Then again, sometimes you just have to roll the dice and see what comes up.

Regards,

Byron King
Whiskey & Gunpowder

Why You Shouldn’t Worry About a Federal Shutdown on Friday was originally featured on Whiskey and Gunpowder. Visit Laissez Faire Books for the best selection of libertarian book titles.

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