As of Jan. 11, 2018, the U.S. government shutdown reached its third week, making this the longest government shutdown America has ever faced, and it has sparked the formulation of a wide variety of opinions from students at Oswego High School.
When a government shutdown occurs, it means that either the President refuses to sign a specific bill into law, or Congress is unable to pass bills that fund government agencies and departments. These events carry heavy impact to different types of workers within the government, but eventually, a compromise is made and the people come to an agreement depending on what the situation is.
These shutdowns can last days, even weeks, and aren’t always easy to put an end to. The shutdown began Dec. 22, 2018 due to President Trump expecting Congress to fund a wall along the border of the U.S. and Mexico, the cost of construction being around five billion. Both Congress and the White House have failed to pass an annual spending bill that would include this sum of money to go towards the construction of the wall.
A government shutdown undoubtedly has several effects on the country as a whole. People that travel by plane experience delays in obtaining new passports to leave the country, and many national parks and recreational sites close down. Quite possibly the biggest talking point, however, is that government employees and vendors lose out on paychecks until the shutdown comes to an end. A lot of these employees include lower-wage federal contractors, as well as several workers within governmental agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Peace Corps. Unfortunately, it seems that a shutdown is inevitable to occur at least once a presidency, evident by each administration prior to Trump since even way before 2000.
When asked whether Trump was right to shut the government down, senior Tyler Jackson is nearly undecided.
“People need to at least give him credit for actually trying to do his entire agenda, which is something new,” Jackson said.
He is still unsure, however, on whether or not an entire shutdown is worth the trouble, but thinks “ be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Senior Zach Gutenkauf, however, is anti-shutdown.
“ has gone on for way too long,” Gutenkauf said.
Gutenkauf also realizes the harm it is having on Americans, stating that “too many people are out of jobs.”
One thing that Gutenkauf and Jackson both agree upon is the fact that certain federal employees are not receiving pay.
“They’re being promised back pay, but there’s no incentive, is not worth it,” Gutenkauf said, with Jackson agreeing.
This shutdown undoubtedly has people talking, and while it’s obviously not the first time it has occurred, it’s a major event that the people feel needs to be discussed and given a solution. At the end of the day, Americans hope that a compromise is met as soon as possible.
Disclaimer: Tyler Jackson is a 42Fifty Staff Writer. He had no involvement in the writing, editing or production of this piece.
Being a federal employee, I hear what you’re saying. My view is that I don’t like to be a pawn in the governments chess game. A lot of people are affected, myself included. Over time, it is about the money, but when this happened, it was around the holidays. I was required to go to work without pay. This included over xmas break so I couldn’t do the things I had planned with my wife and son (OHS student). Also, my father went into the hospital. I couldn’t leave work until the end of my shift to see him. If I did leave early, I would NOT get paid/back pay. Very frustrating! Glad it’s over, for now. Will see what happens in a couple of weeks.