As we near the one month mark of this government shutdown, many are wondering what all of the fuss is about.
President Trump had to decline his invite to the economic forum in Switzerland to tend to business at home. In short, over the weekend, House Dems added $1 billion in border security funding in a spending bill to reopen the government, but President Trump declined.
Then he offered up another deal: three years of protection for Dreamers and people with temporary protected status, in exchange for $5.7 billion for the border wall, and democrats declined.
But aside from the wall, what’s at stake for Americans? Some essential work, such as mail delivery and law enforcement, is still in tact. The shutdown instead has affected operations at nine departments, including Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, and several agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA. This means that airports across the countries are shutting down lines due to lack of TSA agents, the FDA is not performing regular food checks (yikes), and national parks are closed to visitors.
About 800,000 government workers are living without pay, with more than half working and most likely being repaid once the government reopens and the rest sent home with no such expectation. It may ultimately cost more to have shut down the government than to have left it open. Many videos have gone viral on various different social media platforms. Most hold an interview with government workers who are going hungry, or unable to pay rent, most of whom hold Trump accountable.
Many celebrities, politicians, and citizens have responded in outrage. Notably, Cardi B uploaded a video to Instagram expressing her distaste with the current situation and again blaming President Trump. The rapper says, “Our country is a hellhole right now, all for a…wall. And we really need to take this serious.” The Bronx native also pointed out that though the Obama shutdown lasted 17 days, it was “so your grandma could check her blood pressure” amongst other profanity-filled statements.
Overall, this carelessness and scapegoat-nature is irresponsible and goes to show the agenda of this president. He is not focused on the American people, but simply a promised agenda that no longer meets the needs or wants of any majority.