By Johnathon Shaffer / Sports Editor
The US federal government was shut down for a record amount of time (43 days), surpassing the 35-day record of the most recent shutdown before it. Both of these have been under President Donald Trump, in largely different situations. For an in depth description of why, see page 2.
A government shutdown causes all the financially supported aspects of the government, such as national parks, military, air traffic control, TSA agents, or federal workers to either be furloughed, a temporary unpaid leave of absence from work, or, if they were essential workers, they would be forced to work without pay, particularly agencies related to national security.
However, the events of the current government shutdown have been much more sloppy, including some other proceedings involving the government.
A quick explanation of the reason for the disagreement in the spending bill was because of the numerous cuts to social benefits and health care from the government. In many cases, health care coverage prices will double, and in more extreme cases, even triple or quadruple.
Eventually after 43 days, the Senate democrats caved in, and gave in, and passed the spending bill that the House passed, with no changes. The only form of compromise was a promise of a meeting of budget changes in December.
To put it bluntly, this is a severe disgrace to the entirety of the legislative branch. The fact that there were over 43 days of a government shutdown, only for there to be no changes to the spending bill, only reinforces the image of the Democratic party as a spineless party that lets undesirable actions happen within our nation’s administration.
This is also not to let the Republican party off the hook. A budget that cuts an exorbitant, unnecessary, ridiculous amount of money from social welfare programs and healthcare programs, among many other organizations that are necessary for the people who rely on them.
The cuts that are made to these social welfare programs are only exacerbated by the shutdown itself. The shutdown caused the SNAP program to be unfunded by the government, which left millions to starve, which prompted responses from states to pick up the slack of the federal government’s own programs, which is an embarrassment in itself. Because our Congress is so blinded in their hate for each other and in their own greed of seeking re-election, it has caused harm to millions.
Congress also has the ability to trade stocks on the open market, which is very concerning, because of the implications. Congresspeople have made millions upon millions of dollars with information that only they can know. For example, upon the announcement of her retirement from the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has made singular trades in the stock market worth as much as $10,000,000. She also has a current net value in the market in the nine figures. What exactly is representative about a multi-millionaire, who has the potential to be a billionaire?
I can say for sure that this will impact my family severely. I have an 11-year-old brother with Snyder-Robinson Syndrome, a condition that has less than 100 documented cases. He has a G-tube (an external tube that goes directly into the stomach) to feed him, with a feeding pump, and a specialized formula to feed him. He is unable to walk, and needs a wheelchair, with a van that has a specialized ramp. He has constant seizure activity in his brain and needs medication to suppress that. He also has gastrointestinal issues that require medication. He is also behind mentally; he needs constant affirmation and guidance in all of his classes, and is currently being waitlisted for speech therapy. He has just begun to stand with minimal assistance for short bursts thanks to the progress of physical therapy.
This long list of needs that my brother has requires a lot of money to be able to fund, not even mentioning the other things we have gotten him to improve his life. With the spending bill that has currently been passed, prices for things that help him will shoot up exponentially.
He has been making so many strides in his development and has had so many happy moments of triumph in even the last few years. This spending bill could rip that all away because some billionaires want more tax breaks and benefits.
