Tag Archives: government shutdown

Healing Before Leading

I worked at a U.S. consulate in a Middle Eastern country many years ago during a government shutdown over congressional budget disputes. It was hard to explain the shutdown to the people in that country, those we were trying to interest in a democratic form of government. They may have wondered why they should accept a kind of government that couldn’t even keep its government functioning.

The country is even more divided today. Yet, we persist in trying to overcome those with whom we disagree by following a “take no prisoner” kind of approach. If we don’t win, we’ll make it impossible for the winners to govern.

Democracy, however, requires that the losing side let the winning side govern, as it was elected to do. We don’t come up with ways to impede the government when we’re on the losing side. We write and speak our criticisms, but we don’t shut down government functions.

Americans have generally prided themselves on sportsmanship—the referee makes a call, and we expect the losing side to acquiesce. For the game to go on, the players must follow the rules, even accepting penalties when the referee so calls them.

It helps if we recognize that no human or human movement is without error. We may think those on the opposite side of an issue, with whom we strongly disagree, are wrong. If they win, however, we accept it and govern as “the loyal opposition,” with emphasis on loyal. We don’t act like children in a temper tantrum because they must share a toy.

Power Outage Chic

High winds once again buffeted the Pacific Northwest. This time we lost power in the late morning. We had heat from our wood stove, as well as water, though no hot water for showers. We ate out of cans (after finding the manual can opener.) To save refrigerated food, we opened the refrigerator as little as possible. We had internet service for a while, then lost it.

We lighted the kerosene lamps, played scrabble, and read books. I was aware of our blessings, that what we had to eat would be a feast to some in the world.

We woke expectantly the next morning—but still no power.

Dressed in yesterday’s grubby clothes—the latest in power outage chic—I dashed a couple of blocks to the library. I entered with a dozen or so others as soon as it opened. The library shares a generator with City Hall. During power outages, the mayor invites the town to the library to charge devices and stay warm.

As soon as I got enough power, the news came online on my iPad. I realized then the blessing of that news free bubble I had been in for the past twenty-four hours.

I learned that the supposedly most powerful nation in the world couldn’t agree on a budget to pay its bills. Our government was shutting down while legislators recessed for Christmas and hurried home for the holidays.

Essential federal employees worked without pay as the president complained of not being able to make it to his Florida retreat.

James Mattis, secretary of defense, had announced his resignation over disagreement with the president on Syria. Ditto Brett McGurk, the special envoy in the fight against ISIS, the terrorist organization in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, it was practically old home week in the library as other residents arrived to join friends, embrace, and share stories. Somebody said a town up the road had just gained power.

Ah, the blessings of community in a world falling apart.

Shutdown, Day 9, View Not From Washington

 

State Department officials attempting to carry out U.S. policy overseas, despite the shutdown, must answer embarrassing questions from the foreign press. John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, answered one such question, as reported by ABC news.

“I am absolutely confident that when we get this moment of political silliness behind us, we will be back on track,” Kerry said in Indonesia, where he was attending meetings at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. We have recently recognized the importance of Asian nations to our economy as well as to our security arrangements.

President Obama was scheduled to attend but canceled his trip to stay in Washington while Republicans and Democrats wrestle with funding the federal government and bringing roughly 800,000 furloughed employees back to work.

The news report indicates how the diversion of our energy to the shutdown, and possible debt default, affects our influence overseas. China, of course, scored brownie points off our humiliation. Chinese officials cautioned that a default might change their thinking about the creditworthiness of the US government.

Shutdown on Whidbey Island

 

Due to the U.S. government shutdown, hundreds of workers at the naval air station on Whidbey Island, Washington State, where I live, have been furloughed. The impact of hundreds of people worrying about their paychecks will certainly impact the local economy.

A country commissioner pointed out that the local government is just now recovering from the recession and sequestration. She wished that the national government would stop manufacturing crises that only hurt the ordinary citizen.

The executive director of one of the Island towns commented: “Let’s just hope for a quick resolution to this. When you take people’s pay away for no good reason, it hurts everybody.”

As of this writing, the shutdown has entered Day 5.

Shutdowns, Debt Ceilings, and the Safest Currency in the World

 

The government may shut down. We’ve done this before, and Congress has usually resolved the issue in a few days time, albeit, at varying levels of inconvenience to constituents.

Far more serious is the threatened debt ceiling crisis. When Congress approached the brink on the debt ceiling in 2011, Standard and Poor’s, the credit rating agency, lowered the credit rating for the United States for the first time in history. At the last minute, Congress raised the debt ceiling (albeit at the cost of the infamous  sequester agreement) and the United States dollar remained the safest currency in the world. If we actually refuse to pay our bills this time, our premier standing will be at risk.

To our discredit, we lack understanding of how our financial crises influence more than our domestic interests. We don’t take into account how they affect our foreign standing in the world. How much would our influence in the world decrease if, say, the Chinese renminbi became the world’s top currency? And how can we expect others nations to aspire to democracy if they see the world’s most famous democratic nation writhing in constant financial paralysis?