Donald Trump said in the White House in front of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and in front of cameras that recorded the event for millions: "I own this shutdown". That suggests to me that he now owes far more than he's worth to legions of Federal employees.
Now we are committed to paying workers who aren't actually working. Like paying for a hotel that we didn't stay at or a plane ticket we didn't use. Makes sense as a legal obligation but a waste of money. The shut down is wasting money.
DoJ prosecutors can't work so probably some criminal prosecutions will never be undertaken due to lack of manpower and statute of limitations problems.
1
The first people who should not be paid in a government shutdown? The President, senior administration officials and Congress. The first services that should be cut? Food, garbage collection, janitorial - followed by the lights and the water in the White House and in the Capitol building.
If this was how a government shutdown worked, all these people might get their heads out of the sand and actually DO something.
1
Just think what happens if and when a real crises occurs. No one will be minding the store. Then Trump could really have a justification for declaring a national emergency, and putting all the power under his direct control. I suspect that is the true game plan.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, Ann Coulter has provoked Trump's desire (for a border impediment) but taken away his performance.
Careful of word choice - I imagine most federal workers don't feel like their ordinary salary checks "fatten" their bank accounts. This word just plays into the stereotype of lazy federal workers - an old trope.
WHY have members of the Senate become so glaringly impotent and unable to fulfill their constitutional duty of legislating on behalf of the American public???
WHY have they given up their coequal status with the Executive branch and relinquished all power to ...Trump? - no - Senator Mitch MConnell.
It is McConnell who is holding this process hostage. He should be thrown out of his position as Senate Majority Leader for failing to bring Bills to the floor for a vote, where already have enough votes for passage.
Notice that he doesn't even have the gumption to be showing his face during this fiasco, hoping that what is being thrown against the wall hopefully will not stick to him as he comes up for reelection in 2020.
1
An interesting article.
However, it is odd that the reporter distorts economic reality by stating that "the paychecks failing to fatten the (federal workers') bank accounts." Unlike Donald Trump, most Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
6
I think turning off the water to the White House is an excellent idea.
8
People should not be worried. The Trump Gang is on a record pace to reverse ALL of Obama's legislation. Isn't this what you voted for.
Some of the most notable items in the works are abortion rights, Affordable Care Act, environmental regulations ie. global warming. Then we got personal and corporate tax reduction.
We are pushing NATO countries to pay up. We are pulling out of Syria so Turkey can once again try to obliterate those terrorists called the PKK and the YPG. We are celebrating with M bin Salmon to eradicate what will soon become the former province of Yemen.
So what if tariffs are messed up. So what if Mexico does not pay for the border wall, so what if 800,000 people are furloughed, so what if airlines stop flying.
Everything is going according to plan.
Stop this chicken little whining and worrying hysteria. You guys need to be PATIENT. The Trump Gang has two more years to get things straightened out.
You have to believe.
1
Having a two party system that represents the will of the people and allows for opposing ideas to be debated is crucial to our democracy. Nether party should be allowed to hold the American people hostage as a means to achieve what they could not get done through the legislative process.
We cannot normalize or accept this kind of behavior because you don't have to look very far down the road to see where this will lead us if we do not stand up and stop it now.
5
Trump who has probably never missed a meal seems more than willing to force more than 800,000 government workers to perhaps miss meals, mortgage payments, car payments, healthcare payments, etc over this trump/republican shutdown.
So much for caring for the American people who he has so cavelerly thrown under the bus. He needs a wall around himself to save America.
5
If the White House does not pay their water bills, then turn off their water. Trump needs to "relate" to what happens in the real world to people when we fail to meet payments. None of this has any effect on him, it's about time it starts to.
4
As long as Donald Trump and his Republican cohorts in the Senate continue to get paid, or have no problem living off their vast accumulated wealth, there's no reason to think that any of them undrstand, much less care about the financial difficulties hunfreds of thousands of federal employees now face by having to work for free, or not at all.
And the sheer irony of border protection guards and transportation security agents at airports not being paid to do the work that Donald Trump has pinned his entire argument on is unmistakeable.
It will only be a matter of time before they all start calling in sick -- and they'll every other Americans who is sick of this shutdown.
25
Are the USDA inspectors still on the job? Since the NAFTA "negotiations" I have been staying away as much as possible from all U.S. food stuff, actually any product made in the U.S. - now it's not merely a political stance, it's a healthy one.
5
Why would you use words like this?
"With paychecks failing to fatten the bank accounts of some 800,000 federal workers..."
Contrary to a longstanding popular myth, most federal workers don't have "fat" bank accounts. They are regular workers like anyone else. These paycheck are used for housing, food, school, electricity.
10
Trump was feeling lonely in the white house while admiring the unpaid secret service guards. Every unpaid worker should revolt and refuse to come to work but they won't because they'd be gambling on losing out on the back pay once the shutdown is resolved.
This is hostage taking for sure. The Trump administration is terrorizing Federal employees by withholding payments while requiring them to work.
I wish for a bipartisan mutiny against this administration. Guess that's impeachment.
5
Why isn’t DC Water willing to shut off water at the White House? The failure of the White House to pays its bill is a direct result of Trump’s shutdown (aka Temper Tantrum). He and his sycophants should be made to experience a small part of the pain that 800,000 employees and their families, are suffering.
If DC Water is not willing to shut off the water of the White House due to non-payment，then they should be precluded from shutting off the water of any furloughed employee. All other utilities should have the same mandate.
11
Easy to understand why Trump isn't bothered by people who work for him not getting paid. That's status quo for how he operated in the private sector. Stepping on people for personal gain is in his DNA.
7
I thought forcing people to work for The Man without pay was slavery......has that come into vogue yet again?.....hummm.....
3
Bills not being paid, workers being stiffed. Hmmm....sounds familiar.
7
Time to stop feeding and cleaning up after the folks in the White House.
5
The White House is one place that should be shut down as long as the remedial trump is squatting there. He is out to destroy the country, our parks, government agencies, goodwill of our allies, the environment etc. His fear laden speeches are wrapped in constant lies. This is what happens when you elect someone with the mentality of a 12-year old.
4
Here's a thought: Let's start yelling "Shut off the water!" every time Trump says any of the following:
"The Shutdown doesn't end till I get money for my Wall!"
"Mexico is going to pay for the Wall!"
"I never said Mexico was going to pay for the Wall!"
"Nobody builds bigger more beautiful Walls than me!"
"The Wall just got 40 feet higher!"
Hey, we could even carry signs, sell hats, thump around stages holding rallies. If it wasn't so pathetic, this would be fun.
2
Make no mistake, if democrats feel that prolonging the shutdown will benefit their party and the likelihood of defeating Trump in 2020, so be it. Party always comes first. Of course this applies equally to the republicans. It’s what politicians do.
@mark It isn't about the party. It's about the policy. The immigration system has been in need of a complete overhaul for a decade. Congress has continued to punt because hard liners like Trump and Stephen Miller impose impossible and conflicting demands. The US farming industry needs immigrant workers or they go out of business. The wall was a ridiculous campaign slogan and now Trump is wedded to it. It is he who will not negotiate.
5
@mark. Except that the Democrats have repeatedly sent bills to the Senate to open the government back up. There are enough votes in the Senate to pass the House bills, but McConnell will not allow a vote unless Trump says he'll sign it. Now tell again who's keeping everything shuttered?
7
If any tragedy occurs as a result if this unnecessary shut down, its totally on this president. In fact this isn't a shutdown at all, but a hostage taking.
I think republicans are supporting this tyrant of a president at their peril. if ever there were a case of tryrrany of the minority, this is it.
I believe Donald Trump plotted this move the day the Democrats won back the House. If the wall were such an emergency, why didn't the president fight his own party when they failed to fund the wall?
His actions are despicable and dangerous. And still, no Republican stops him. Shame on them all.
13
Oh, please tell me that when trump presses his "red button" a butler fails to appear with a fresh diet coke and cheeseburger. Please tell me that Melania is doing her own hair and ironing her own clothes. Please tell me that team-Javanka is eating out of homemade paper bag lunches.
17
@Ellen M Mc
Yes!......
Awaiting the post that Trump is flipping his own burgers....Melania is doing her own mani/pedi.....Ivanka is doing home schooling for her precious three....SHS is doing work community from home because she cannot afford a nanny for her 'youngs....
1
@Ellen M Mc I agree but the saddest part is that this shut down does not directly affect the wealthy president and his family at all.
4
He better call his Accounts Payable clerks back in.
1
If there is no one left to fight with will Trump get bored and quit?
Wishful thinking ...
6
If history’s stupid moments have taught us anything it’s that you must always ensure that the guys with guns and the folks making your food remain paid and happy.
Trump’s ignorance of, and disdain for, history might prove hazardous if his tantrums continue.
8
Trump is psychologically challenged. McConnell is just a rotten to the core mean guy. He holds the power to challenge the naked emperor, but for his own political gain chooses not too. One would think that a man his age would reflect and mellow. Instead, his mean has just concentrated. Like boiling down some broth.
13
@Rainy Night So correct you are! When you "boil down the broth of McConnell & trump, you end up with a trough of rotten and bitter swill!
Go ahead, cut off utilities to the White House, like other government employees are likely to soon experience ... and let the Trumps vacuum and take out their trash themselves!
14
@Christensen
Why should the WH have water when some Native American communities in America can NEVER get clean, piped in water into their homes....think equity....
Lets make this easy. The Liberal Democrats that don't like this Democrat forced shutdown should go find other work. We have long wanted to purge this Liberal establishment class that is too ingrained in the government. Maybe Trump can fire them or is this just wishful thinking on my part.
@Thomas Lashby
Mr Lashby, this shutdown began Dec 21, when the Senate and House still held their Republican majorities, because the President wouldn’t (after promising McConell that he would) sign into law the budget that had passed the Senate unanimously. The new Congress didn’t come in until Jan. 3. Explain.
Meme seen:
Quick, while this government is shut down, let's start a new one."
Sounds good to me.
6
'A Wall to Far'
1
Please, please tell me that Sarah Huckabee Sanders isn't getting paid...... It would be the only good news coming out of the White House in the last three weeks.
12
Turn off the utilities in the White House, send the janitors, maids and cooks home, and let Trump cook his own ramen noodles for lunch.
6
When you suggest that the paycheck my wife earns working for the US Secret Service “fattens” her bank account, you disparage and disrespect a loyal hard working woman, an immigrant who’s been an American citizen for 25 years. How dare you!!
8
@John Kay
That's what I thought, too, when I read that! "Fattens"? Hardly! My son-in-law works for FEMA and is one of the hardest working men I know~~he has to be forced to take his vacation time. And yes, he and my daughter have some savings, but only because they are extremely frugal! I feel sosad for those who've no savings and live from paycheck to paycheck~~no "fattening" going on for them, unlike for the members of Congress and El Presidente (though his "fattening" has come illegally).
2
Trump's base appears to be people who think they do not receive any benefit from the Federal government and are jealous of anybody who does. most of them would like to see it totally shuttered. That way they would have no regulation on how to dump their sewage.
2
Give him the money for the wall on the condition that he promises to resign STAT!
2
Seriously? "...forced to bring in their own food." Are you kidding me?!? Poor little babies. I AM a federal employee and I bring in my own food EVERY DAY.
And don't get me started on not being able to use work phones or e-mail...why would anyone do any of the above if they weren't actually AT work? Do none of these people have gmail or cell phones? Are they all cut off from civilization entirely? Have they put the furloughed speech writers in a dungeon somewhere?
But I would like to know what any of this has to do with the White House paying its water bill. What is up with that? Why does the White House even have a water bill?
Well, I'm off to eat my lunch that I had to bring to work all by my poor, deprived, suffering self. Boo-hoo!
3
How ironic. Trump's janitors weren't getting paid when he was working in the private sector, and they aren't getting paid now.
11
no need to have the kitchen opened, just send a secret service agent out for burgers . . .
2
"Fatten the bank accounts" is factually inaccurate unless the reporter has analyzed the state of all these accounts.
5
Cut down on his staff ... no cleaners, chefs etc... Get him to do his own housework, let his Secret Svc go home... I wonder how long he would hold out?
3
Why don't the Democrats arrange to meet with Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh directly to work this out, and eliminate Trump, who is only the middle-man and has no idea what to do here anyway?
13
“fatten their bank accounts”? Really?
4
Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his press secretary;
Bill Shine, his deputy chief of staff for communications;
Mick Mulvaney, his acting chief of staff;
Stephen Miller, architect“zero tolerance” immigration policies.
WH swamp critters surrounding the POTUS, protected and empowered by Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, and the rest of the Republican Congressional swamp.
How much lower will the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower sink?
7
It was my understanding that the three branches of our government were constitutionally coequal. But apparently Mitch McConnell thinks the legislative branch is the lapdog of the executive.
10
Donald Trump is the last guy in America who would ever care about the suffering of others from the mess he has caused. His entire life history shows it.
8
Well--rules or laws should be put in place to end this practice of a government shutdown once and for all. Outdated and harmful to the country. If it can't be stopped, then changed so those serving in the house and senate do not get paid as well. No one has the right to hold the government hostage--even the President.
2
@Hello Obama shut down the government for 14 days. Surly you remember that. I bet you were screaming about a rule change then
I lived in DC during the shutdown that Gingrich and his cabal forced in the 90s, and the result was deservedly ugly for the Republicans. So hopefully at least one result from this shutdown will be that Trump and his Republican enablers will be held accountable. But the real issue is, once again, Mitch McConnel who has single-handedly caused some of the gravest damage to the country. One way out would be to pass legislation even if Trump vetoes it, until it has reached a veto-proof majority. But Mitch is of course blocking that action. The NY Times should put his once again insidious role front an center every day! Right now he and his obstructionist role are hardly mentioned.
8
I assume that the government workers who take care of Air Force One are still working and getting paid time-and-a-half overtime.
2
Whenever the government is shutdown, Trump, his cabinet, and congress should also work without being paid. Does Trumps clique need to be paid? I'm certain that Steve Mnuchin, Mike Pence, and all his other clones have plenty of cash reserve to go without being paid for the duration of the shutdown. That may incentivize them to get this resolved quickly.
1
Well, I wonder if we've finally nailed the myth about Trump being a brilliant negotiator and deal-maker. Not much sign of negotiation here, just petulance, anger and insults. Seems to me he's totally painted himself into a corner...
5
Trump's father and Donald built their initial real estate wealth by putting the squeeze on destitute people.
Trump lacks heart and soul.
6
The presently semi-vacant Whitehouse is a apposite metaphor for trump's vacuous heart, soul and intellect. Sometimes I think "Lord help us" even though I'm an atheist.
4
Government shutdowns as a political bargaining chip should be made illegal. No political party should be allowed or emboldened to use such tactics.
Essential employees should not be required to work without pay. This is disgraceful. If they are working they should be paid. They should not be pulling funds from 401ks or defaulting on mortgages while our congress, primarily comprised of multimillionaires, play a game of chicken at the expense of the people, who elected them, pay their salary and gold plated healthcare benefits, and paying for the services they are denying us.
3
Unpaid employees and bills piling up on desks are nothing new to any Trump run business.
3
I'll bet Kelly Ann Conway and Sarah Huckaby Sanders are still being paid — along with all of the congressmen and senators whose pay isn't effected at all.
3
The article notes: “Mr. Trump, who is said to be exploring ways to circumvent the need for Congress to provide money by declaring a national emergency — has given every indication that he doesn’t care how long this fight goes on.”
Quite so. But who is feeding Trump his lines? Listening to his Hannity interview at the border indicates Trump is not all there. The “interview” is simply Hannity bouncing sound bites off a ventriloquist’s dummy.
We are faced with the very probable situation of a President who is simply a prop for his puppet masters. A vacant automaton.
6
You wrote about “paychecks failing to fatten bank accounts.” This is incredibly disrespectful to hardworking employees who live paycheck to paycheck. This isn’t about employees getting rich. This is about people unable to pay their basic monthly bills. Be more thoughtful and respectful and responsible, please.
7
All Trump needs to hear is a single cheer from the crowd for his “cause” and that’s enough to energize him no matter the fight. He learns NOTHING; he is incapable of allowing a single, opposing idea to counter his own version of events and that includes his wall. He sees the cameras poised on him, red hats that need signing, gets his praise from his base and he's good. The fight has already been won in his mind, the rest is just execution, he has his minions poised to get it done.
Human suffering, whether it be migrants, or unemployed government workers mean nothing to him, he reserves his phoney empathy for the grieving families who lost their loved ones at the hands of illegal immigrants for example. He has no humanity, he's just a cheap huckster who uses everyone and anyone who can advance is agenda.
His base will follow him off a cliff while the rest of America shutters as your country moves toward an Autocracy. I pray he does not declare a National Emergency, but he'll do what he has to do to get his win.
3
Everyone says he, Trump, wants to win. I beg to differ, he wants the other side to lose. That is more important to him than anything else. This crisis has truly cornered him, he will not be able to use the emergency measures to get himself out of that corner. As a result, as soon as this crisis is over one person will soon be without a job: Steven Miller! This is not the first time he is cornering Trump because of his crazy ideas. This will be the straw that will break the camel's back. Good riddence!
3
Maybe the news media can research and publish articles about what unemployed government workers are doing. Are some earning money working for someone other than the Federal Government? Did anyone take a vacation? Did some clean up and fix up their homes? Did some visit children or grandchildren? How about it? Show us the rest of the story.
@Robert Winchester
I'm a federal contractor who works directly for the US Forest Service (part of the USDA). Generally speaking, our money is already allocated pre-shutdown and because mostly our contracts aren't discretionary, we've been allowed to keep working through the last 3 shutdowns. However, most of the employees we work for are non-essential. They aren't allowed to travel, because they must be available to work the very next day and they have no more advanced warning about when the government reopens than we do. So visits and vacations are out of the question. And knowing that you're nonessential with an unknown return date and donald's bluster, would you really be willing to put down money on home renovations?
Assuming donald declares an emergency, are you really going to spend money hoping that a judge rules in his favor and hopefully the government comes back?
I've worked with enough districts over the years to know that most of them have a genuine wish for public service, and as far as I'm concerned, any legislator regardless of party should be removed from office when their inability to compromise leads to this kind of grandstanding.
11
@Josh Thank you. This is information that has been needed to further understand what our government workers are going through and the added limitations that they face. This trump shutdown is just plain cruel.
1
I know the Democrats already have a bill to go after corruption in government. How about adding another one to eliminate the option of shutting down the government?
When a budget agreement cannot be reached, the government should automatically go into continuing resolution (as it usually has over the last few years).
If you want to make major changes to funding and/or priorities, make your case. Debate it! Take your case to the American people. But don't allow some rogue president or leader of the Senate hold up legislation and put hundreds of thousands of _our_ employees out of work.
It's not only harmful to the individuals involved and the economy more broadly; it's also just a plain stupid way to run any organization much less the government of the United States.
3
When any part of the government is officially shutdown, all food service, trash collection and office cleaning should be stopped in the White House and all Congressional offices.
Once our elected officials actually suffered, shutdowns would never be used again as a political tool.
3
Why not shut off the water to the white house?! Other homeowners would not be so fortunate to have the water company "let it slide". Even Trump can't last long with out running water!
4
Since Secret Service agents are required to work without pay during this time I ask:
How many unpaid agents are protecting the Trump spawn while they gallivant around the world, enriching the TrumpCo. empire?
Eric, Donnie Jr. and Javanka should take a break from their private business activities until their security forces get paid.
6
I pay taxes that help keep my local, state, and federal governments functioning. For all intents and purposes, Drumpf does not. He shouldn’t have a say In shutting down a government to which he makes no monetary contribution.
34
Trump should ask the local banks to institute a "Pay Day Loan" program with nominal interest rate secured by delayed paychecks. That way there is no issue but the border situation.
I honestly think this shutdown ploy is part of the “Steve Miller/Steve Brannon” plan to destroy government. Many of these employees will quit and the Trump Administration will not hire new people due to the hiring freeze. Essential services protecting Americans lives, homes, environments and finances will be curtailed. There will be a majority of political appointees in some divisions who will stymie the efforts of true civil servants. This is their vision of a “Greater America”.
27
It's hard to believe that 800,000 federal workers are living paycheck to paycheck, but that's what I keep hearing from the Democrat-leaning press. Have these bright public servants never heard of savings? Of putting away emergency cash -- enough to outlast a six-month period of unemployment? That's the standard that every responsible wage-earner has been told throughout his working career, and it's sound advice. If these public employees, who will get paid eventually, have overspent and under-saved, whose fault is that? Do they bear no responsibility whatsoever for their own financial condition? I'd like to hear from some federal workers who saved for emergencies like this one. I know they're out there.
3
@Ed L., I am a furloughed Federal worker. I came to Federal service from a previous career, and my spouse and I have enough savings to survive a prolonged shutdown.
It took us a couple of decades to save this money. We are lucky that two of our three kids have finished college and have their own jobs, that our mortgage is paid, that we are a dual-income family, and that we have manageable credit card debt. We are also lucky that my health insurance continues to be paid despite the shutdown. If I had lost weeks or months of income early in my career when none of these things were true, I would be in deep financial distress, like many of my younger colleagues are now.
My colleagues did nothing to bring this on themselves. In some cases they have sacrificed higher pay for greater stability. In other cases they are starting out their lives with student debt and mortgages, like so many of their private-sector contemporaries. They are completely innocent victims of dysfunctional management.
OK, now you’ve heard from someone who is not in immediate trouble. Please stop trying to shift the responsibility from where it belongs — at the top.
72
@Ed L. Apparently, a typical TSA worker makes about $30K per year. I'm not surprised that these folks don't have a lot of cushion.
9
@Ed L.
Enough of the "this would never happen to me because I am so much more virtuous" ethos. Federal workers start as low as $25,000 a year. Even earning $50,000 a year or more, people supporting families could be living paycheck to paycheck.
11
Perhaps after this is all resolved, that a review of all these Federal workers (non-essential) job descriptions. Federal workers receive superior pay and benefits - let's reduce our Federal budgets across the board via job buyouts - retirement.
@Realist
Er, no. They do not receive superior pay and benefits. They are payed less than their private sector counterparts, especially as you go up the income scale. And while federal benefits may have been superior decades ago, they have been adjusted over time to be no different than those offered by corporate employers.
1
When everyday, hand-to-mouth American workers aren’t being paid, the people who make the decisions to withhold that pay should feel the same pain of loss of income, regardless of whether they’re “essential” and despite the fact that most are too wealthy to notice. None of the decision-makers in the federal government should be paid — not Trump, Pence and certainly not that weasel Steven Miller, and not anyone in Congress. They collectively fail and insult the American people, both citizen and resident, whether documented or not, every single day.
23
I suggest that Democrats would do well in this case to adopt an adult role by removing the political calculus from this noxious contretemps.
Make a splashy offer to trade funding for the wall in exchange for reopening government, the cancellation of Trump's revocation protected immigrant status and his destruction of DACA. Take it or leave it, Mr. President.
As a practical matter, funding for the wall will make little difference, except for the mindless waste of nearly $6 billion. Extending the government shutdown indefinitely, however, will cost much more in the long run.
A majority of Americans want a government, any government, even one that its own leaders abuse so blithely. The Democrats have a winning hand here, simply by loudly and boldly proposing a compromise that sustains a government that taxpayers are forced to finance whether it functions or not.
5
Pence has already taken DACA off the table.
3
An autocrat desires loyalty more than anything. For Trump, government employees working without pay and without complaint is the purest evidence of their loyalty to him. All the more reason for him to extend the shutdown and filter out those who are willing to sacrifice all in his honor. Chilling.
12
Receiving your due pay check is not "fattening" your bank account. Government employees are not able to negotiate for salary. Government employees' incomes have been frozen and reduced thus resulting in a decreased real income in perpetuity.
Many could make more in the private sector, but are committed to the mission and this country. Failing to pay civil servants should not be tolerated.
26
Mr. Trump has a long history of not paying those who work for him. I doubt he's having a crisis of conscience now.
26
remember Atlantic City & who benefitted from the casino bankruptcies...
16
Trump has reduced the White House to The Trump Organization, literally and figuratively. People working for Trump and not being paid is right out of the Trump playbook. It was all so predictable.
23
"With paychecks failing to fatten the bank accounts of some 800,000 federal workers..."
As a government worker, I can assure you that my bank account balance is never enough to have a single paycheck "fatten" it.
It would require much more mass for fat to occur.
What an inapt phrase.
27
Article by Katie Rogers on shutdown. Toward the end of the story, she refers to the "scourge of illegal immigration". This is an extremely loaded word to use, assuming that illegal immigration is a scourge. If Trump was talking to a representative sample of Texans, he could as easily have heard how such immigration provides labor, sells retail goods and foods, pays for the baby boomers retirement and gives us hard-working and law-abiding citizens.
Write the story using adjectives without overlying moral judgements, leaving those for the Opinion section.
8
“We are not turning off water to the White House,” Vincent Morris, a DC Water spokesman, said in an email. The outstanding tab: $5 million.
I think DC Water definitely SHOULD cut off water to the White House. And both Congress and the Administrative branch shouldn't be paid. Why shouldn't the people who cause a shutdown pay the same price for it that innocent workers have to pay? And when this is over, government shutdowns need to be made illegal, and anyone . . . president, congressperson, etc.. . . who tries to shut things down should be carted off to jail.
23
The question that should occur to all of us is how far behind the farmers are the rest of us if the shutdown is protracted? How many of us depend on federal resources, even if not directly, that will eventually dry up due to lack of funding or there being no one to process payments or make decisions or offer appovals or process permits?
Of course there are companies with federal contracts who may be among the first to feel the pain of staff being laid off. Then there are many companies that have business with state and local governments that get partial funding from the federal government for the work they contract out.
There are those companies that rely on the transportation department's funding of our infrastructure to do their business.
There are the companies that are required by regulation or statue to engage with agencies to sell their products or services. (The microbrews being an early indicator).
Besides our jobs that could be threatened there are the agencies that keep us safe, insure products are what they say they are, inspect our food, and keep our health.
The pain felt by the farmers will soon extend to many more.
15
Trump not paying his bills - what else is new? That is his modus operandi, has been for decades. He is using his shutdown the way he used to try to squeeze his creditors when he defaulted or almost defaulted on his huge casino debts. The big difference is that this time, he is hurting millions of Americans to get his way. But then, what happens to others never bothered him before.
22
Word is that if the continuing government shutdown does not force Democrats to give in to Trump's border wall demand by the end of next week, Trump intends to take random Americans off the street and torture them until the Democrats cave, claiming of course that it is the Democrats who will bear responsibility for the torture.
3
A little confused - the story says: "Federal employees are counting on getting back their lost pay at some point..." Does that mean employees that are currently working with no pay (TSA, air traffic, janitors etc..) or all federal employees working or not?
@Lando: It means all Federal employees, working or not. That is how previous shutdowns have been handled.
It will be over soon. Trump is just holding out so he can claim he has the biggest, most beautiful shutdown in history.
22
@Milwtalk
I suspect you might be right, he just wants the record.
3
.... and match the size of his hands and his ego, to name some of his other greatest things.....
2
The mad anti-scientist strikes again.
Wish it was a movie or made-up reality show. Unfortunately it is not.
WE THE PEOPLE are the only ones who can stop this insanity and NOW is the time.
10
"At White House, Empty Desks and Unpaid Bills as Trump Shows No Sign of Relenting"
Empty desks, and a big empty head belonging to the chief....
26
Seems like a rare positive side effect to me.
what if the border wall was and still is for folks suffering from climate change? the projected rainfall for upper South America, and a few years out that also includes most of
Mexico as well. That would be a legacy. Climate Change has always been about food staples for 7,700 humans... not “ice melting in 2100 something”.
1
"fatten the bank accounts" of government workers? "fatten the bank accounts"? Really?
I will hold back and I will gently say that your choice of words here is inappropriate to the situation. "fatten the bank accounts "? Good grief.
57
@Mary Ann I second your comment and ask that the authors of the article respond.
2
I do not understand why federal workers, who are unionized, are willing to work without pay. In Europe when the government penalizes government workers, they declare a national strike and walk out. Are our workers so intimidated by their bosses that they act like sheep and just go on working without pay???
23
@bobbrum: Most Federal workers love their jobs, and love to feel that they are serving their country. I work at a Federal agency. I am currently furloughed, and I would gladly work for free if I was allowed to. Most of my co-workers feel the same.
5
@bobbrum: While love of job and country may be one reason, the truth is that federal employees are legally forbidden to strike, and have been since passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947.
See this article published two days ago: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/shutdown-federal-workers-cant-strike/579793/
3
@JMB But you are enabling a corrupt bully. A general strike might be more appropriate.
President Trump so far seems to be immune to the effects of the shutdown. After all, how many other households in the country can run up a $5 million water bill and have the water utility not press for collection?
He seems to be clueless regarding the cost of his petulance to the 800,000 federal workers PLUS the millions of Americans who depend on their services: travelers, farmers, homeowners, small businesses. contract workers, etc. etc. etc.
Unfortunately, this man has so little in common with the vast majority of Americans - yes, even his "base" - that he is incapable of feeling anything but raw greed for power.
God help us until someone in the GOP puts on the Big Boy Pants.
36
Very pleased that El-Trumpo decided to cacoon himself in the Whitehouse during the holidays in lieu of spending it here in the Palm Beaches. It was a fabulous xmas gift and made a great New Years celebration!!
16
The DC Water Board could be our saviors. Cut off the water in the White House. I bet that would go a long way toward ending this mess. I can't imagine trump has any appetite for that level of discomfort, can you?
50
He will move operations to Florida.
1
“At the center of the operation, after all, is a commander in chief who emphasizes the importance of never backing down, …”
This is the “Art of the Bully” who doesn’t know how to negotiate a fair deal. He is a documented serial liar and bankrupter.
Beware Social Security recipients (current and future) now that he has cut revenue and put another $2 trillion and growing on your national debt! The US can’t pay back 10% of its debt without a national (possibly global) crisis.
We must find a way to hold self-interested and self-enriching Elected Politicians, government officials, their staffers and operatives from both parties personally and financially liable, responsible and accountable for the lies and half-truths they have told US, their gross mismanagement of our county, our $22 T and growing national debt (106% of GDP), and our $80 T in future, unfunded liabilities they forced on US jeopardizing our economic and national security, while benefiting themselves, their staffers, their party and special interest donors.
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Can we furlough Trump? If so, let’s never reopen the government.
28
@Demosthenes: Clearly you are not someone who depends on the Federal Government for a paycheck or any other kind of assistance, financial or otherwise. But, you know, whatever ...
"With paychecks failing to fatten the bank accounts of some 800,000 federal workers".. nice alliteration Dr. Seuss, but also completely out of touch with the realities faced by many federal workers. Fatten the bank accounts.. When I read this I couldn't believe the sheer ignorance of the statement. Has writing in journalism always been this bad, and I'm only noticing it now?
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@Bradford I agree, that was a poorly chosen phrase. Most federal workers need their paychecks to simply pay their bills.
12
@Bradford
I totally agree, and it got me thinking. Does any group of people who work for a living get any respect anymore? Teachers, civil servants, doctors, farmers, minimum wage workers? It seems like any discussion of wages concerning any working Jane or Joe includes some swipe that implies that they are at the trough and asking for too much.
3
@Bradford Thank you. I was struck by the ignorance (read stupidity) of that statement as well. "fatten the paychecks" is hardly an appropriate phrase for moneys earned but going unpaid for working families.
2
We should not pay the politicians as well - this is all absurd. All started because Trump is a spoiled child. A typical Trump stunt.
Said he can't accept Democrats' offer to re-open the government as the two sides negotiate border wall funding because he "would look foolish if I did that,"
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@epmeehan
It's a fair recommendation but likely ineffective. Many politicians are rich - working not for their salary but for re-election assistance, connections for high six-figure post government employment, future book purchases, future speaking engagements, etc., etc.
Who's benefiting – the Elected Politician, an independent contractor entrepreneur, running his or her political business and narrow special interest.
Who’s adversely impacted – hundreds of thousands of federal workers, their supply chain, and the rest of US!
We must find a way to hold self-interested and self-enriching Elected Politicians, government officials, their staffers and operatives from both parties personally and financially liable, responsible and accountable for the lies and half-truths they have told US, their gross mismanagement of our county, our $22 T and growing national debt (106% of GDP), and our $80 T in future, unfunded liabilities they forced on US jeopardizing our economic and national security, while benefiting themselves, their staffers, their party and special interest donors.
3
Well, well - 2/3 of the White House staff is not working - but Trump’s friends are being fed and their trash picked up by the unpaid custodians (janitors is so passé). Trump’s post office tower is manned by the Park Serice while the rest of the parks are closed. Close the mess and stop the cleaning services and see how quickly the shutdown ends. What hypocrites!
78
Trump's only real 'skills' are intellectual, moral and economic bankruptcy.
Left to lead by himself, Trump will -- and already largely has - bankrupted America.
The House and Senate should override his veto power and Make America Great Again.
Let Trumpty Dumpty fall off his stupid imaginary wall.
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Ms. Rogers: I'm trying to figure out the question you asked that elicited this answer: “It’s a smart move not to” allow them in, Leon E. Panetta, Mr. Clinton’s former chief of staff during the shutdown, said in an interview. Was it "How at risk are interns of being accosted by predatory men in an empty White House?" I'm pondering which is most illuminated by Panetta's comment: Panetta's mind, the Clinton White House, the Trump White House, any administration?
5
It could also be that interns who are inexperienced would not have the right supervision and oversight in such an environment. Nothing necessarily to do with predatory politicians, but that they’d be able to inadvertently make mistakes at a time when that could blow up spectacularly. I would agree not having interns around without the right oversight in place.
3
@Martha Reineke
Panetta is saying it's a smart move not to allow them in now, because it will look like the White House is receiving free labor and can ease their loss of employees, when other agencies and departments during the shut down cannot.
@Martha Reineke: Maybe Ms. Rogers asked him whether it was wise to have the interns hold off on “fatten[ing] up their bank accounts” as a way to teach them some adult lessons in budgeting, since she seems to think that Federal employment is richly remunerative (clearly she comes from a privileged - and uninformed! - perspective on this matter, as do her editors).
1
Even Trump’s vaunted “base” must be starting to see what a crackpot he is at this point - unless they are so brainwashed by his “wall” sloganeering that they’ve surrendered their critical thinking capacity entirely.
Shame on the Republican Party leadership and Congress members - including the faux-compromisers such as my senator, the ever-“concerned” Susan Collins - for allowing this to continue. Holding Federal employees hostage to a manufactured crisis and Trump’s unwillingness to “look foolish” will rightly be hallmarks of their opponents’ campaigns when they are next up for re-election. I can’t wait.
41
@Olenska
Some trump voters are starting to see trump for the con-man that he is - mostly because they are being affected by tariffs and/or the trump shutdown.
A con-man can get away with the con for only so long - once you see a con, it becomes obvious.
9
@S B I dunno - I thought it was obvious 3 years ago. At least.
1
Describing paying federal worker salaries as “fattening” their bank accounts is offensive and inaccurate. The average federal paycheck barely covers employee living expenses in many areas, particularly in Washington D.C. The typical federal worker lives paycheck to paycheck. Their bank accounts don’t fatten; they serve as conduits to creditors.
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As a former federal employee I was also a bit insulted by this “fattening” comment. Thanks for pointing it out.
34
Is it really fair to say that government workers' paychecks "fatten [their] bank accounts?" While wages in the unskilled positions may compete or even be higher than in private industry, those in the managerial ranks tend to run behind what the compensation is for comparable careers, with the added bonus of better job security, which, as of three weeks ago, was no longer the case. Nor will it be as long as Congress is allowed to kick the can down the road every year because it is not required, without excuse, a budget by a date certain every year. Or for as long as continue to keep an adolescent tyrant, prone to tantrums in the White House.
I do so hope Sarah Huckleberry Sanders's checking account is declining. A fitting perk for what she does for the country.
49
Every worker who has been affected by the shut down needs to send Trump an invoice for their bills which must be paid, mortgage, rent, car payments, health expenses, and whatever else. Swamp the White House with unpaid bills, and keep doing it until the Government goes back to work. Trump after all has bragged that it is his decision and how 'owns it', although I don't think he had any idea of the ripple effect throughout the economy.
29
@Marie Muir yeah, he said that - weeks ago, but he's reneged on that since (like 50+ times).
5
@Marie Muir
Sadly, I believe that this administration would suddenly decide that the postal service is not essential and all mail delivery will cease if that happened.
3
@Marie Muir
Send the bills to Nancy and Chuck. Trump wants to put people to work.
Stiffing workers and contractors is the way Trump ran his private business, so it isn't so surprising that he's carrying over that attitude towards paying those who work for him into the government.
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@David Gordon
Right!!! You know the Taj Mahal story. And we continue to trust this man. Any federal worker who trusts Trump in the future should know better.
1
The jig is up, Trump won't admit it.
15
There is madness in the land. Madness.
47
The Trump legacy surfaces. He's the master of unpaid bills.
72
Maybe this is just all about breaking Clinton’s record...
17
If the White House doesn't pay its water bill, its water should be cut off, as no one in the White House has lifted a finger to help the thousands in Michigan and elsewhere who have had their water turned off for non-payment.
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@Lawrence Reichard: All the utilities and service providers will extend courtesy to the white house for reasons of national security, etc. not necessarily because of Trump.
5
@EricR I really doubt water is a security issue and would give Trump a reality check he would otherwise avoid.
2
Could not have said it better. Thanks.
1
“I never saw so many guys with machine guns in my life. Secret Service and military. These are great people.”
Umm... do you really want a few dozen guys with machine guns hanging around if you're not bothering to pay them?
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@Peter Piper
I saw this on the internet so I can't be sure it is completely accurate, - I am trying to get the facts. I read that at the time of the assassination Kennedy had 9 secret service men.. Trump has 900. Where can I go to get real figures???
@bobbrum
Couldn't the number for trump be reduced to 9, please?
Once again the Times shows how out of touch or lazy or both they are. Warning that 800,000 federal employees won’t receive paychecks today, the article states these employees will be unable to “fatten” ther bank accounts due to shutdown. It would be accurate to write employees will be unable to replenish their bank accounts.
58
I agree. That sentence really struck the wrong chord with me. Also, it does not fit with the tone of the rest of the article, like that phrase was just stuck in there, randomly was editorial software that recognizes phrases and suggests substitutes. I think probably lazy or hasteful editing.
26
Now we know what it would be like to work for Trump !! He just simply wouldn't pay us and he'd sleep well at night too !We'd have to take him to court to get our money! Happens to contractors everyday.Those that don't pay know that most contractors won't take the time to go to court to get their money so in the end people like Trump win !! If the contractor prevails in court...then payment was delayed and Trump wins that way! Trump types are heartless !! Hasn't his accountant had to speak with Robert Mueller? Mr. Cohen's testimony will shed more light on all of Trump's business and personal dealings...it will be riveting testimony I'm certain !! Seeing his tax returns or testimony some day by Robert Mueller would be interesting as well !! Wait until the day Mr. Mueller's report becomes part of ..ALL THE NEWS THAT"S FIT TO PRINT !!
21
Ask the people of NewJersey who worked at his casinos. Exactly the same. He didn’t pay them either and left Atlantic City in shambles. He’s doing the same thing to our federal government.
41
Why not shut off the water to the White House. This will likely happen to others when they cannot pay their bills. Why should our glorious leader be treated so much better than ordinary folks.
67
Federal workers without cash could be susceptible to offers of immediate financial support from bad entities in return for favors at a later date. The scenario would be a ticking time bomb, one which we are enduring currently as with the conduct of Paul Manafort.
39
@Jim Tokuhisa Oh, come on. Really?
1
@DJ.."Oh, come on" DJ, tongue firmly in check.
The Russians have won. Whatever happens next, whatever additional chaos and harm this preposterous President casuses, it will take generations to heal the wounds and divisions Trump has recklessly ... nay, gleefully ... ripped open in the body politic. The Manchurian Candidate was finally successful at something ...
96
Recall the "Trump didn't pay his bills" news cycle of 18 months ago? See any similarities?
82
There is clearly posturing on both sides, with neither wanting to appear to cave. Yes, Trump is being bullheaded, but so are Pelosi and Schumer. Trump is looking for $5 billion for his "wall". The Dems could agree to a compromise figure of, say, $3 billion, and the government would reopen. The problem is the system which allows for politicians of either or both parties to hold the nation hostage in this fashion. But the clowns aren't going to acknowledge their own irresponsibility, and change the system to avoid the consequences of that lack of responsibility.
2
@ATF
Pence suggested 2.5 billion, but Trump says he won't sign that. This is on him. He wanted a showdown, and now he has one. Keep in mind that Congressional Republicans have the power to fix this, too. The Senate passed a spending bill; they could pass the same one with a veto proof majority. Our lawmakers should be sensible and adult, not blindly tribal.
93
@ATF There was a deal,both sides ,which trump said he would sign until he wouldn't after watching Fox News. The impass is that neither the Republicans or Democrats know WHAT trump will agree too and they refuse to be jerked around anymore.
25
@ATF
Don’t let the GOP Senate off the hook. They could pass legislation to open the government and dare Trump to veto it...IF the GOP Senators didn’t believe they worked for Trump rather than the American people.
And if Trump vetoed it, they and the House could override...IF they had the best interests of the country in mind.
But they are mere sniveling political pawns...not the representatives that the Constitution calls for!
It is a wonder the Secret Service and others would work for free for a deadbeat president who could not care less about the “little prople.” Perhaps Trump would reconsider his position on the shutdown if his security folks told him he has two weeks to work it out or they are quitting if they are not paid.
77
@D. Smith, but you know, loyalty to country and all that--so inconvenient. It does beg the question though about how far is too far for these folks. The Secret Service is well paid, I imagine most of them have some savings so they they can hold out for a while. And they don't talk to the media so we may never know their hardships but if this lasts two more weeks, we may start to hear the tales and then maybe things will change.
5
@Joseph: The secret service is NOT so well paid as you might think.They are consummate professionals who are paid roughly commensurate with their training and the difficulty of their tasks, but they put much more on the line every day than mere money could compensate. The cost of living for those stationed in or near D.C. would eat up salaries far greater than theirs. Think of all the dry cleaning...
8
Trump is just a mean fellow. If the Speaker gives in he blame her and Shumer for all the damage done by the shutdown, If he gives in they will do the same. The only way out is some form of compromise-where each party gets something but not all. But Trump walking out of a meeting-was well childish. It may well be that this shutdown if it continues will be Trumps last stand. People are really starting to hurt. It won't take long before the air traffic controllers stop coming in and that would be a national emergency.
25
A $5 million dollar tab for water for the White House. What do they have flowing through the pipes there? And do they leave all the faucets running all day? Stop worrying about the wall. We need someone to figure out why so much water is being used in the White House.
135
@walking man Trump is going to personally negotiate the bill. He's the great deal maker.
26
@walking man I have no way of knowing and don,t care enough to spend the 2 minutes researching, but that $5 million may include the sewer bill, which in many municipalities is based on the water consumption and charged as part of the 'water' bill.
Would explain the high cost ....
8
@Allisons Twin I took the 2 minutes and Googled it. It appears the water bill includes the White House and other federal buildings in Washington DC
4
Hold the phone!
“We are not turning off water to the White House,” Vincent Morris, a DC Water spokesman, said in an email. The outstanding tab: $5 million.
The White House has a $5,000,000 water bill!
How long has it not been paid. How much water is used in the White House? I know it's big but I've seen bigger mansions with more pools!
If you or I didn't pay our bills after a few hundred or a thousand dollars the water would be shut off. And if not that, for health reasons, than the town or city attaches a lien for the amount owed.
I thought Republicans were all about responsibility. Oh, other people's responsibilities. Thank you for clarifying.
181
For the reading comprehension challenged:
DC Water was notified that the QUARTERLY water bill would not be paid in full (due to failure to appropriate the funds, aka sign the spending bills). The QUARTERLY payment due was $16.5 million. Of that, $16 million was paid, leaving a balance of $5 million. The next QUARTERLY payment is likely due in April, to cover the first quarter - Jan 2019 through Mar 2019.
1
@Gusting - Uh, speaking of comprehension: If the bill was $16.5 million and $16 million was paid, the balance would be $500,000. Not $5 million.
In any case, the quarterly bill of $16,5 million is for the entire DC federal-building/parks etc. water system, not just the White House, but this article was so badly written it's understandable if people are unclear.
That and the line about how federal workers don't get to "fatten" their bank accounts, when they are not being paid at all for the work they are doing. Yeesh.
11
@Gusting
Talking about reading challenged, if previous payments were up to date and the quarterly bill was $16.5 million, and $16 million was paid, then that leaves half a million unpaid — not five million
2
The White House being empty may help preserve our country’s values a little longer.
22
Remember Trump had at least five bankruptcies in his businesses and stiffed a lot of investors.He is trying to bankrupt the U.S. and is now stiffing the American taxpayers who pay their hard earned money to pay taxes to support the government.It breaks our heart to see Federal workers suffering- we obeyed laws and paid the money to support them.Trump, open the government!
119
@Janet Michael You may not recall, but during the election he did say it wouldn't hurt the U.S. to go bankrupt. Just think about it, and what it would do to our bond rating. How sad for our county that we have to live through this National nightmare.
18
Well bankruptcies are legal when you can't pay your bills....I think he will soon find out that it doesn't work the same just because you don't want to pay for some things but are willing to pay for others not because you need the wall but because you want the wall and what it symbolizes. No it doesn't symbolize greater protection from illegal immigration it just symbolizes Donald Trump's method of governing which is simple I'll hold my breath and not budge till I turn blue. Donald please take a big deep breath and hold.
1
if they've stopped paying the water bill, maybe they will stop paying the phone bill, and the tweets will stop. We can only hope.
193
Ya gotta love the beauty and simplicity of the logic.
4
Has the country ever been more vulnerable? A skeleton crew of demoralized employees managed by novice “acting” directors led by a president who's convinced he’s starring in a reality show and hasn’t a clue – or any interest in learning - what government does.
236
@Jack
Luckily for us the one thing the world knows we are always spoiling for is military action.
5
@Jack Good news. He will be gone in 2024. Not that far away. As long as the economy keeps humming no one will end up unseating him. We can dream all we want. Its not going to happen
Reminds me of how Trump runs is business. Except this time the victims pay his salary and his legal fees.
97
@Karen Actually, the victims of the fraud paying his salary and legal fees is the way that he's always done business.
44
@Peter Piper
Very true.
4
@Karen I too remember how Trump stiffed employees and the small businesses he contracted with to furnish his casinos. Also the fact that he unsuccessfully tried by every means available to him to force a woman to sell her house at a cheap price in order to get a parking garage for one of his casinos. This has been the Trump family playbook for many years and will never change. Trump rightly proclaimed himself the "King of Debt"! Now all Americans, including those who fell for his con, are paying the price of putting this fraud in office!
3
Is it true that Trump had a reputation of stiffing his subcontractors in his private businesses? If so, then his lack of concern for the very real human pain caused by his petulance seems to be business as normal. And now we have become complicit in his scheme.
Congress, as a separate branch of our government, could vote to open the government, if the Republicans in Congress didn’t feel that they worked for the president. Silly me, I still believed that they were supposed to work for the American people and that they took an oath of office to do so.
It seems the GOP has earned the same deadbeat reputation as their boss...all over a wall that is so unnecessary when 21st century technology can secure our border more effectively at less cost.
Don’t let Congress off the hook! Call your Senators and demand that they Make America Open Again!
174
@Bruce. Yes, Bruce, it is most certainly true! We who live in NYC have known about Trump’s willful reneging on paying bills, taxes, etc. His multiple casino bancruptcies. His probable money laundering. It has never been a secret to us. We told the country this.
But did they listen? Nooooo!
32
Yes, it is true. Google “Trump piano “
DC should shut the water off if the bill is not paid on time. What happens when a normal citizen doesn't pay an outstanding bill?
271
@Katrin - 100% agree. They should start to call in sick as well and see how things at the White House grind to a complete halt. This is ridiculous, holding federal employees hostage as a way to get anything.
68
What if there was no one in the White House to cook his steak or make his hamburger and French fries? What if he had to subsist on instant mac and cheese that the had to prepare himself? What if he had to live his daily life as many of the government workers with no paycheck and little savings must now do?
90
Because that’s the kind of petty vindictive behavior Trump would engage in. Without water, much of the HVAC system would be nonfunctional. The fire suppression system could be compromised. The building and it’s historic artifacts could suffer cold, heat, humidity damage. The White House permanent staff, who are primarily Black, would also suffer. Many of Trump’s critics on the far left are just as bad as him. The building belongs to the American people and needs to be preserved for future generations and future presidents. This should not require explanation.
10