On Shutting Down Government: the Bad and the Ugly

Paying your bills on time, avoiding high interest rates, and deciphering needs vs. wants comprise some of the basic financial literacy lessons  that I teach in Peace Corps. Financial literacy entails rather basic material, ideally to be taught at young ages so that participants will grow up to be responsible adults- nothing too complicated. Some topics that might fall into this subject include making balanced budgets, paying existing obligations, and working as a team . Understanding of such concepts is fundamental to the ongoing health and stability of any family, association, or… government, otherwise the enterprise is doomed to fail. This is more or less common sense.

So on the morning of [yet another] U.S. federal government shutdown, all I can say is that I am disappointed; disappointed that my government failed to live up to the very elementary concepts that I promote daily; disappointed that Congress failed to perform its constitutionally mandated duty to appropriate funds; and slightly embarrassed at the overall dysfunction and finger pointing that characterizes this instance, and much of the past decade. However, I am not surprised. Not anymore.

If you share this sentiment, consider that the finger pointing started well before the shutdown was even official. The hashtags #SchumerShutdown and #TrumpShutdown have been trending on Twitter all night and into the morning. Yet, blaming the other side is not the problem; it’s the cause of such ineptitude. If government struggles to perform the most basic of duties, how can we expect to govern in an increasingly complex world? In many ways our ability to govern is regressing, and - before we lay blame on our elected officials for their hyper partisanship - we must dually reflect on our own partisan selves.

Would you be able to compromise on key issues involving border security and immigration knowing that if you didn’t  the government would  shut down? Or, would you do as our elected representatives did on January, 19, 2018, effectively shutting the government down and irresponsibly wasting millions of dollars daily. My 10th grade students could tell you this is a frivolous waste of money and that distinguishing between wants and needs could be of value here, but then again, they are financially literate.

Perhaps I care more than most people about this shutdown because I am a dedicated civil servant representing his country abroad who believes that, when done effectively, good government can benefit the people at large. I have tied my education and early career to this ideal. It is unfortunate that government shutdowns appear to be a nuance of 21^st century civil service.