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BLOG December 08, 2017

Would It Really Be so Bad if the Government 'Shut Down'?

What happened?

Congress passed a funding bill on Thursday that secures spending for the next two weeks. But they don’t have much of a reprieve – Democrats and Republicans need to work together to pass a longer-term bill before the end of the year.

Didn’t this happen last year? ... and the year before ... and

Yep. Averting a shutdown seems to be an annual tradition for Washington. The next spending bill could be a lot tougher to pass since Democratic leaders have vowed to dig in their heels unless the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields children of illegal immigrants within certain parameters, is included in the funding package.

Glenn’s take:

Glenn noted that even if Congress can’t manage to pass a spending bill, programs like Social Security and Medicare and essential functions like law enforcement will continue. Would it really be so bad if the government took a break – or even if the “nonessential” parts that would close during a shutdown just stayed closed?

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: Today, the threat of a government shutdown still looms like Dickens’ “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come;” A dark phantom warning of misery and chaos unless we keep kicking our impending doom down the road.

Frightened by the specter, the Senate passed a funding bill last night, staving off the government shutdown for the next two weeks.

But imagine for a second that we let the government shutdown occur. What would happen the next day?

Widespread despair and pandemonium?

Nope!

We wake up all snug in our beds like Scrooge on Christmas morning feeling a bit lighter and happier, that’s what happens!

The truth is that the government doesn’t really “shut down” during a government shutdown.

Millions of government workers keep on truckin’.

NSA agents will keep snooping on you. TSA agents will still give pat downs. Traffic controllers will still try to stay alert with Red Bull. The Post office will still deliver your packages. Border patrol officers, federal prison guards, FBI agents, doctors and the nurses at the VA, and most of our military service men and women will all still show up to work.

Social Security and Medicare checks will get mailed and food stamps will be distributed.

There will, of course, be some agencies and institutions that will have to close for a bit.

Like the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The National Organic Program. The United States Antarctic Program. The Smithsonian Institution. The National Museum of Natural History. And the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Just to give you some examples.

But keep in mind that not all employees will be told to go home from these agencies and institutions. Just the non-essential ones.

Which begs the question: Should non-essential employees be employees in the first place?

I’m gonna say probably not.

A government shutdown isn’t scary. What’s truly terrifying is realizing how bloated we have let the government become. If the government shuts down before Christmas, it might just be the best present of all. And then maybe we can finally address the most chilling ghost of them all—The Ghost of Present Debt Ceiling.

RADIO

Glenn Beck celebrates the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11

It was only 50 years ago, on July 20th, 1969, that Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to actually set foot on the lunar surface -- something that just ten years prior had been unthinkable. More than 600 million people around the world listened as Armstrong spoke these immortal words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Watch the clip to hear Glenn tell the story and bring the historic day to life.