“It is my dream home. It’s like my last stop; it’s like my last chance — you know?” said Ms. Wormley-Mitsis, 39, who lives in Fall River, Mass., and is staying with relatives until the check clears. “We drive by that house all the time. It’s torture. Waiting, waiting, waiting.”
And I have always worked and paid cash to cover the rent for the roof over my head.
1
The shutdown Trump imposed on our country for a disgustingly useless wall that most Americans abhor is criminal. In my mind he should be impeached for this dreadful act alone.
He is a wormy unintelligent man and the worst president in American history. Why hasn’t he resigned BEFORE we impeach him? He is a fool not to do so if he wants to save at least his grandchildren.
Millions of Americans are paying a high price for Trump's racist pandering.
These immigrants come to the U.S. primarily to escape problems in their native countries (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) which includes a stagnant economy, high levels of crime, political corruption and widespread drug use. There is a legal way to request a green card to enter the U.S., however unlawful mobs entry is not allowed. Shame and disgrace of all these central American countries and their governments who fail to feed their people, to give them medical care, good housing, and jobs. These central American countries and their governments are the ones at fault.
Sorry that your country does not love you anymore. To find true love you need to find and walk on God’s Holy road which will one day open the gate to His Kingdom in Heaven. The road you are currently walking is man made and will only bring you tears and despair, darkness and regrets.
The Constitution and Impeachment. The Constitution, Article II, Section 4: The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. To wit,
It is well past time for the Democrats and Republicans who have Any moral principles and who care about the future of all of our people to rise up clearly and unapologetically to impeach Donald Trump and his Vp Mike Pence
It's not about "the wall." It's about power and control. Trump is a bully who has no negotiating skills but to say "give me what I want or else." At this point, the Democrats have no choice. If they take the high road and agree to something that will compromise their values, Trump and every President who follows will know they can bully Congress into giving the Oval Office whatever it wants. That's what it's about.
1
@Earthling. Do you know any contractors? How about Carpenters? Roofers. Gardener/Landscapers? Tile setters? Block wall builders? Construction Laborers? You asked me to be specific, and these are the people I know, that I associate with. Now, YOU might be above those jobs, a lot of Amerucans seem to feel that they are, but a lot of Americans are not too good to do hard work. And there is nothing wrong with that, and it does not make you better than they are. When a guy comes onto your jobsite, and offers to work for $12/hour, and you are making $35 or $40 after doing your best for the past 20 years, it WILL make you hostile towards under the table workers. There are a lot of jobs that Americans are willing to do, that are being taken over by illegal aliens. You mentioned hotel maids, there is nothing disrespectful about being a hotel maid, there are plenty of Americans willing to so it.
1
Mr. Trump wanted this shutdown and said he would own it. He needs to continue to own it. He doesn't have any empathy for the poor or ill or otherwise unlucky.
In the middle of a very cold winter, more will become homeless and on the streets.
This is no way to run a country.
Why are the unpaid and furloughed workers not protesting and demanding their pay the way they would in nearly any other country? Not only federal employees but the many other contractors and their employees who are also not being paid?
Why hasn't there been a sick-out yet?
And what about other Americans who are being badly affected by the lack of services and endangered by the ham-stringing of the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security, the TSA, food inspectors, airline safety inspectors and controllers?
Why do 40 percent of the public still support Trump in spite of his attempts to bully and control the Legislative branch in clear violation of the constitutional separation of powers?
For a people who constantly talk about freedom Americans have become surprisingly subservient to their government.
1
Educators do not get paid during the summer for about ten weeks or so. I suggest people save for a rainy day. Private company workers never take their jobs for granted for life.
1
And so we are hearing from the hostages in this crisis (as if we aren't all hostages, to some degree).
There is nothing less than control of the federal government at stake here. Mister Trump would like to be King, with all that entails including making decisions by autocratic pronouncement.
Congress, and specifically the House of Representatives, who are the voice of the people here, will not bend to his will and thus Mister Trump has shut down the government.
This is not about immigration, the wall, or any such thing. This is about control of the federal government.
If Mister Trump wins this one it is over for representative democracy. We will have become dictatorship in all but name. Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues know this, and know they cannot give in.
The Republic should be able to survive to the end of Mister Trump's term, with luck, and assuming Congress sticks to their guns. It cannot survive a yielding to hostage taking.
Please, you who are being held hostage here. Go to food banks, take donations, know you are not alone. I am sorry the burden has fallen upon you, and I thank you for your sacrifice, but we cannot yield to a tyrant.
2
I dare anyone to look an Angel Parent in the eyes and say the wall is a bad thing.
3
It is time for both Trump and Pelosi to accept half a loaf and stop the suffering of the people!
3
The democrats fund the military just like the republicans do. And that is trillions of dollars. Pelosi will vote for the making of machines that kill foreigners. But a wall to keep them out is immoral?
2
The only people Republicans care less about than federal workers, the poor and the homeless.
2
That's not true. We give to many charities to help the poor. Federal beaurocrats remain at the bottom of our list of people to worry about.
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer - please make some effort to negotiate with Trump and end this senseless log jam. I voted for Hillary, not Trump, but I am frustrated and disappointed with your refusal to try to negotiate in earnest with Trump.
4
Democrats need to show a united front and clear vision - trump is playing games and must be countered. They must (Democrats):
1. delay their salary payment until Fed. workers are paid again
2. immediately send a response to child trump, a counter offer, for ex., $3 billion for state-of-the-art border management and control, along with DACA permanent relief
3. demand an immediate negotiation mtg with republican leaders (if they exist) to discuss letter/proposal - tonight would be great, all-nighter even, if necessary
4. all agree to open govt. asap plus find way to make sure this does not happen again
5. post in every newspaper (let's make Americans read again) clear, concise, and strong points as to why trump is not a dictator and he cannot demand govt spending, such as a random, non-specified wall, at will.
6. explain that government spending needs to be responsible, fact/policy driven, and MAJORITY supported.
6. let Americans know that you care and do not sleep at night due to this shutdown (as many Americans feel).
No response, as it appears today in the news, will not work. His proposal is a con-job, he is a con-man but spell it all out to America.
Get your best and brightest out to speak to the media and make sure your outrage is shown because the U.S. cannot accept deceit, lies, and/or gun-to-the head threats (from trump for wall) again - now or any time into the future.
Get going...this is too serious to wait...not even 1 minute...
6
To be clear, shut-downs by politicians should be illegal.
The problem is that politicians comfort themselves by agreeing to back pay to all furloughed workers. If workers didn't receive back pay after government opens, then the consequences would be so dire that no politician would ever use shutting down government as a political maneuver. Back pay for government workers is in fact immoral. No-one should be paid for work they didn't do, ever.
I am surprised that conservatives are OK with paying people to not work. AND, no worker should receive unemployment benefits and back pay. Are there laws or policies in place to insure furloughed workers are not able to double dip pay?
Again, all government shut-downs are wrong. This is not a value anyone should share with Trump of Mitch McConnell who are responsible for the longest government shut-down in history.
3
Trump doesn't care a whit about human suffering; he doesn't have an ounce of empathy in his body. All he wants is his wall, and any amount of compromise is a waste of time. It will be up to congress to get us out of this mess, or the TSA agents who will bring the airports to a standstill.
2
Which points out that you don't pay attention for more than a few minutes. The entire problem is that Congress won't do its job RE: secure borders and immigration.
1
Remember the trump supporter who wondered why the shutdown was hurting the wrong Americans?
These are the Americans she was referring to. The fact that the bottom tier of the economic ladder are feeling it worst? That's a feature, not a bug to trump's followers.
They really scream 'forgotten Americans!!' when the topic is farm subsidies, but the poor? Single mothers? Those are the supposed Democratic voters trump divides you against; they are supposed to be hurt, amirite?
5
I only have sympathy for those who didn’t vote for Trump. If you did, you fully understood his platform. If you didn’t see how it could affect you, here’s your lesson.
6
My oh my - everyone wants to blame Trump. But remember - it take two to tango. When I hear Pelosi proclaiming "No Wall, No Compromise" I see I see an individual who is nothing more than a power drunk politician no better that the President who at least is trying (clumsily) to curb illegal immigration. So far all in this sorry cast of characters are pretty disgusting - with emphasis on those who support illegal immigration. We should be strengthening our immigration system to expedite entry for those trying to to build a better life (this has always been a tradition in the U.S.) while keeping the illegals out.
Lastly, who are the people paying the most for this political impasse? The people who are being required to work while their pay is deferred. So far I haven't heard any politician propose that interest should be paid on that deferred compensation. Does anyone in either party care for anyone but themselves? I don't think so.
2
Trump "owns" the shut-down according to his own braggadocio statements.
People are suffering as a result of the shut-down.
Trump doesn't care. Depraved indifference to human lives...
3
Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump aren't worth having in the government much less running it. They are worthless. They do not care about anyone but themselves and they cannot see any further than their nose as to what is happening to working people in this country and working without pay. This is demoralizing to the country. I am retired and money is always tight but these two guys and others just like them are completely detached from the suffering they have caused and continue to cause. The wall is not worth the suffering an anxiety that is happening. And wall is a dumb idea. They are worthless in my opinion and completely devoid of empathy and compassion.
3
One thing that workers should understand is that 'work with no pay' is a negotiation. The reason you aren't being paid is that there is no guarantee that you will ever be paid (i.e. the Congress can't guarantee that your job will ever be funded again, even though it probably will be). If you can't put gas in your car to get to work (without debt), you employer has essentially prevented you from entering the workplace. However, you need to be reasonable about the issue, and avoid getting too emotional about it.
I am a homeless man in Minnesota, and this past weekend we were issued the final SNAP (food stamp) payment for February 2019. That's it...it's over. There is no guarantee that the program will ever be restarted again, or that I will benefit from it. This is a very scary thought for me and many others like me. But I am trying to be reasonable about the issue and avoid getting too emotional about it.
I am also aware that a large, starving, and foraging population has historically led to political instability. As someone who has experienced hunger first hand - not peckish, but real hunger - I feel that that is a real possibility if the shutdown is delayed into the month of March, 2019.
3
Regardless of the outcomes of the Wall debate and the government shutdown, I am in favor of holding gigantic military parades in Washington to celebrate them.
The President worked long and hard to create these crises and the country is badly in need of a good laugh.
2
I guess tRump figures that this hurts Democratic voters (not a lot of Sec 8 GOPeers, other than the owners of the buildings) and that they'll blame the Democrats when they're tossed out onto the street.
At least that'll be the spin they'll on see their FB feeds in 2020.
1
I'm suprised Trump is not telling us about all the money we are saving by not paying people, and how it is reducing the deficit, and if we just hold on a little longer all the programs for poor people and the federal employees will just go away et voila all we have to do is declare bankruptcy, stiff all our creditors and use the money to build a wall. Or something.
1
The Solution:
Attach legislation to current border bill that forbids holding economy, security and services hostage by using shutdown as negotiation leverage ever again.
Then pass a bill and move on.
3
Folks-this shutdown isn't about a wall or any such contrived crisis. It's 100% about an effort, on the part of Donald Trump and his Congressional GOP allies, to try and stymie as many investigations, by the government into Trump's Russia and other dealings, for as long as possible.
I'm sure our President views the harm being wrought on 800,000 people who haven't gotten paid in a month as acceptable collateral damage resulting from his 100% self-justified efforts to not be revealed for who he is.
The good news is that the House will do the best they can to continue to pursue essential investigations and I'm optimistic about their ability to do so.
But the broader damage being done by Congress as a whole lies in the utter and disgraceful abdication of their oath-bound requirements to act as a check on such constant and on-going egregious abuses of power by the Executive Branch.
3
I feel for these people and they will ultimately get paid...but the most disturbing aspect of all this is many of these workers do not have an emergency fund to pay 6 months of their expenses. Americans need to learn to live beneath their means and stop spending like the paychecks will never end. Many of these people would never survive if they did not have a guaranteed government job. Try surviving a job loss in the private sector when you are in your 40s or 50s.
8
Caving in to Trump means future, longer shutdowns. What he wants now is only a fraction of what he really wants. And the next demand will also likely lack an expert assessment of whether walls work and where. I’ve heard security experts and border mayors say a wall along the border isn’t what’s needed. Maybe a few miles in a couple spots.
I’ve heard ideas like fiber optic cable to alerts security, which would also bring internet to outlying places. That’s a great idea. Maybe it will cost more. I’d be all for that. Why? If it works and doesn’t look like an ugly blight on the land, physically and metaphorically, and doesn’t destroy habitats, then let’s do it.
Not to mention that it’ll take years for all the eminent domain cases to clear. He’ll be long gone by then.
If Trump supporters are so concerned about our tax dollars (or do they still believe Mexico will pay?) wouldn’t you demand a feasibility study to make sure it’ll be money well spent? To a real estate developer everywhere looks like a good place for a structure. Trump wants a wall even if it isn’t the best-spent money. Why don’t people get that?
2
Seriously, the more heartbreaking this is, it’s pretty hard to wrap our heads around one of the most wealthy countries in the world, on its own accord, sending folks to soup kitchens, on behalf of their president!
2
Pelosi, Schumer and Trump can end this madness in an instant. It is not about $1 billion/year for a wall, in a national budget of over $1 trillion; that's less than 1/10 of 1%. It is about ego. All of these people being hurt because Trump won't compromise, and Pelosi and Schumer won't give trump a victory. We know Trump has no compassion, but now it is clear that Pelosi and Schumer also have no compassion.
2
C’mon. Two able-bodied adult women cannot afford $505/month in rent?
5
Did you read the article? She is disabled.
3
Not only that, but how about a little help from Dad?
5
This is shaping up to be the Land of fantastic yard sales from sea to shining sea.
The comments I've read have addressed the macro of the overall effect of the shutdown and its political aspects nationally.
I am commenting on the statement that some "small" management companies are telling tenants that as of February they will be responsible for the full basic rent. This is simply a fear tactic. Those responsible for such action should be brought to account by HUD after this is over.
The tenant has a lease, The lease is a legal contract. And HUD would not permit a landlord to have language making the rent go to market rate on teh basis of the government not paying the landlord for a reason other than one within the control of the tenant.
Write another article to alleviate the unnecessary fear this article started. Somewhere a grandmother sits in fear of being homeless because of these type rumours. To quote Bobby Kennedy "we are a compassionate country, we are a loving country" we don't kick the poor from their homes. Only unscrupulous landlords can do that!
5
@Scott, you're mistaken. Landlords who accept HUD subsidies have a legal right to evict tenants for non-payment of rent, and they do. It's hard enough to even find landlords who are willing to accept the HUD subsidies. No landlord would sign a contract forcing them to keep tenants who are late with the rent.
Let's stop paying the Senators, each and every one of them. Let's see how they manage their children's private school costs, multiple car insurance payments, mortgages and shopping at Whole Foods/AKA Whole Paycheck.
Let's start here for negotiations.
5
Time for those furloughed or working without pay to take to the streets and picket any Federal Building.
6
It should be illegal to close the government, Period. How do we get there?
5
I am amazed at how many millions depend on the government for a handout (my tax dollars).
8
@NYC Dweller The government shutdown has been eye opener in many regards, not least of which is that Americans are unprepared for anything short of business as usual. If we can take media reports as truthful, within 32 days things are unraveling for many people and having a negative effect on the economy. Either there is a lot of exaggeration going on or a great number of our country's citizens are in very sorry shape. Yikes. Does not bode well for the U.S.A.
4
TSA workers could end the shutdown quickly if they utilized the old industrial action tool of "work to rule." This means showing up for work, but giving an absurd meaning to work rules and working to the absrudity.
Within the context of TSA workers, work to rule would look something like this: The rule is that with the government shut down there are heightened security concerns which mean that every piece of every passenger's luggage must be opened and searched by hand, and every passenger must be pulled aside and have their belongings swiped with a swab, which is then put into the machine to test for explosives residue.
TSA employees should work to this rule until the shutdown ends. It wouldn't take long for that to happen.
5
This is sad! He was elected so let him have the wall! In 2020, vote him out and tear the wall down! But don't let ordinary Americans suffer no more!
1
@SridharC
Yes, Democrats should tell the American people they are putting an end to Trumps dangerous political stunt and giving him the money he wants; and, announce they are starting impeachment hearings the next day.
1
'Senator' Mitch McConnell, a rather unworthy individual.
6
These effects of the shutdown — are they not the result of an unfit president?
5
In the past I researched the case of Public Housing funded by the Federal Government. Little known facts came to light.
After 25 years, federally built public housing can be declared 'surplus' and as such sold to developers who then raise the apartments fees to 'market rate' effectively removing low income housing and pandering to graft by the politically powerful.
Also the rental fee paid by the renter in a Federal housing complex is more involved than noted. While the monthly fee is quoted as one figure, of which the renter pays a portion, usually up to 35% of their income, the Federal government is actually being billed for 'market rate' of the apartment which is over and above the figure used to calculate the 'rent.'
May and varied programs exist for the developer of which Prez Trump's lawyers are fully aware.
5
@katesisco
Yes, as real estate developers the Trump and Kushner families are very much aware of how this works. The Kushners also acquired buildings in NYC and illegally evicted tenants in rent controlled apartments or made life so unbearable with prolonged renovation projects that tenants move. They then jack up rents. The list goes on and on. They are truly unscrupulous.
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/19/17137782/kushner-companies-rent-stabilized-buildings-work-permit-fraud
https://apnews.com/002703e70347481cb993027d04f543cc
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/business/tenants-sue-kushner-companies-claiming-rent-rule-violations.html
Let alone a sense of democratic accountability and constitutional responsibility Trump administration and its enablers the Republican lawmakers have even lost all their moral sensibility while allowing perhaps the longest spell of government shut down that has virtually pushed hundreds of thousands of the federal employees to the brink of starvation without any salary for full one month. Similarly, short of funds several essential services have been crippled resulting into hardships and pain for the public. But, President Trump and his Republican backers remain completely dumbsensed and unconcerned about the public misery and pain, feeling no guilt while keeping themselves well paid and well fed with the tax payer money for discharging practically no official work assigned under the constitutional obligations. It's like Nero (Trump) is fiddling while Rome (America) is burning.
8
I have been reading “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond, who sheds light on the affordable housing problems in America. Published in 2016, he delves into the affordable housing crisis specifically in Milwaukee, problems which are mirrored in many formerly prosperous cities across the US.
Many of these families are upended or evicted due to one single event happening: illness, job loss, arrest, pregnancy, death. I am sure a government shutdown is handcuffing these communities as this is a significant event for people relying on HUD and other financing options for housing. This shutdown is sure to produce a ripple with lasting effects for housing insecure families. I feel for them.
But, each morning, I get up early and get my three kids fed, dressed and to school, then my husband and I go to work. We pay our bills, taxes, save money and donate to charities when we can. We are planning for college tuition, retirement and unplanned expenses as we age. We are not letting any government agency determine how we live. And we take pride in that, even though it is not a popular way to think in these times.
Fiscal and personal responsibility are things to strive for, not to be avoided, because it gives all people a sense of worth and helps motivate through the hard times. Government aid should not be a right or expected, but used as a stop-gap measure for those going through difficult times.
8
It seems that the time has arrived for all people who are employed to have a general strike which lasts for about a week or so to support the 800,000+ Federal workers and contractors. DJT and the Republicans want to force America into bankruptcy in order to claim that makes America great. Really. . .!? American workers need to stage a general strike until these geniuses are removed from office.
BTW, at what point does the law actually apply to the administration of DJT, i.e., RICO coupled with indictments? I'm just asking, because I really don't know.
2
Where are our righteous good hearted billionaires now when we need them? Especially so called left leaning ones, who have the means to alleviate the pressure on suffering government workers and strengthen the Democratic bargaining position at the same time?
Come on compassionate oligarchs, spread some of all that extra loot around where it can do some good for society. And how come our liberal politicos aren't making this case to their donors as we speak?
2
@OUTsider
Why isn't the POTUS paying up front for the wall himself? He said Mexico would pay, and that was a fantasy - if he wants the wall so badly, he can pony up $$.
2
This is stiil going on not just because Trump wants his big manly Wall, but also because Mitch's donors want to shrink the government and get rid of regulations. Everyone here telling federal employees to save more, or mothers with autistic kids to get a job, is entirely missing the big picture.
18
I consider this shutdown to be criminal negligence perpetrated by our president who proudly owns it. His accomplice Mitch McConnell is just as guilty. The man who ran on being a "great deal maker" has resorted to hostage taking and still can't get a deal done. Republicans must start insisting that Congress start acting on behalf of the people that elected them. The House has put forth numerous bills to fund the government since the shutdown began and the senate majority leader won't put them to a vote. How cowardly and cynical. The shutdown is not and should not be the hostages problem yet Trump and his flunkie Mitch have made it so.
12
Build the Wall and this all ends ...
3
Of course you do know that the land to build the wall on has not been purchased yet? Or maybe you also realize that most of the people who own the land do not want to sell it for a wall. Open the federal government and this all ends!
7
Until he wants something else. Rewarding bad behavior never works with children or pets.
9
@Robert James,
And then what happens when a Trump wants more money for his vanity project? Or decides to defund Planned Parenthood? Or tries to end the multiple investigations into his and his family's ties to Russia? We will endure shutdown after shutdown, which will continue to hurt the most vulnerable and most powerless. Is that what you really want?
7
I wonder how many Trump supporters are suffering because of this. I wonder how many realize that this is what they voted for when they cast their ballots for him. Not thoughtful government, not government for the likes of them. This is government of, by, and for the elite. It's government for people who do not depend upon paychecks to survive. It's what government looks like when it's run by an incompetent, uncompassionate, uncaring, and completely disinterested group of people.
In case it wasn't clear before the Grossly Overpaid Patriarchy, headed by Daffy Trump, is not concerned with the 99%. We are in their way. We are not worth anything to them except as pawns or instruments of their re-election. Remember that when you vote in 2020. Remember that when you need to sign up for that loan to plant your crops, or can't access information online, or have a question that doesn't get answered because the government is shut down. Remember that Trump wilfully and willingly shut down the government that we pay for.
Only a fool bites the hands that feed him. The GOP has a lot of fools.
22
The first example you write about represent only a tiny fraction of people. The second example related to the landlords making tenants responsible for the part of the rent paid by the government, is practically meaningless. It can take months before families are evicted for nonpayment of rent. The congress and Mr Trump will have settled by then.
@Marika
Clearly you don't know any people working fwo or three jobs near minimum wage and constantly under threat of eviction. The landlords in those situations also are in the habit of stealing deposit money and finding other quasi-legal ways to squeeze tenants dry even after they're evicted.
I know, because I have helped a few of them. The stories are worse than most of what you see reported. There's a whole moneymaking industry, all too often assisted by authorities, on the take. Debt collectors and obscene interest rates as well.
I get it, Trumpsters would rather blame victims than accept that Democrats are not Satan. But that does not make it true.
20
@Susan Anderson
The people I know working two or three jobs have chosen that lifestyle. My massage therapist gripes about her income but only wants to work two days a week because she likes her free time; she fills in as a barista on weekends sometimes.
Twenty-something technicians at my veterinarians' office are low-paid but nevertheless pop out children with some regularity, instead of waiting, saving and educating themselves for a more lucrative career. They like the part-time schedule, the cute animals and the casual environment -- and then complain that they are strapped for cash.
Yeah, there are disadvantaged people out there, mostly people of color, who never got a break and never get ahead no matter how hard they hustle. But most of the part-timers, multi-job low wagers or "struggling single moms" I've seen have made umpteen choices to adopt that lifestyle.
4
Prior to Donald Trump receiving his ‘build the wall’ directive from Fox, McConnell and the Senate passed a clean bill that was expected to pass the House and Trump promised to sign. Then Trump and Paul Ryan broke their word and withdrew support.
Nancy Pelosi’s first order of business upon becoming Speaker was to get the very same bill McConnell passed in the Senate to clear the House. Pelosi got it done, sent it back to the Senate, and now McConnell refuses to allow a vote on it. In all likelihood both the House and Senate have the votes to override a presidential veto. Now McConnell and Trump refuse to support what they themselves first promised.
- Trump, Ryan, McConnell, and Fox programming created this impasse.
- Republicans had two years to get it done but didn’t.
- Trump proclaimed, “I’m proud to shutdown the government” and “bear the mantle”.
- federal employees are not being paid and are in danger of losing everything because Republicans, from the president on down, do not keep their word.
- a wall is unsupported by the majority of Americans. Trump promised Mexico would pay. No President gets everything on their campaign wish list.
Since the US - Mexico border is a Republican safety concern, I suggest it be protected the same way Republicans protect our schools and other areas from mass shooters, with hopes and prayers. Republicans should promptly organize and dispatch prayer groups to the border to protect us from unarmed immigrants and refugees.
22
For the great majority of Americans, working class, blue collar (for the most part), day in-day out 9-5, or sometimes 6am-6pm daily grind, there isn't a lot of blue skies on the horizon. For some reason, the people that appear to think they are members of "The Smarter Political Party", want to open the border up, wide open. At the moment, there are, depending on who furnishes the numbers between 11 million and 22 million illegal aliens in this country. For all the griping about offshoring our manufacturing, allowing a mass of low skill, or completely unskilled workers to pour in (100,000 per month isn't just a trickle), is definitely going to have a negative effect on wages. Which I'll assume is why they allow it to continue. It isn't racism. It's about trying to keep moving forward. Personally, I am not willing to move backwards to 90s or 80s level pay, just because you think it might get you some votes to allow the illegals to come in, and give them citizenship down the road a ways. And with the news that Nieto received $100 million from El Chapo, and the previous 2 Mexican Presidents are under suspicion for taking bribes from the Cartels, you just have to assume they'll bring it here, too. And worrying about the homeless? Most people don't care, they put themselves exactly where they're at.
1
@BorisRoberts
Personally I don't know any true, blue Amurricans who want to pick crops, process dead animals, clean hotel rooms or do brutal construction jobs in the blazing sun.
Exactly what jobs do you think all those low-skill or "completely unskilled" workers are taking away from those you think are so deserving? Please be specific.
8
When the airports close the government will open. TSA personnel should not be forced to work without pay. That is slave labor.
6
@David Booth The airlines and airports should pay for TSA, that way it will always have money.
2
@David Booth TSA is unneeded, and unwanted. No love lost there. Better to point to closed parks, etc.
This shutdown is part of the Conservative’s adjenda. No real surprise here. Steve Bannon outlined the plan during the campaign. Reduce the Government! It goes back Reagan.
Trump is just idiot they found this time around. Reagan was also put into place to advocate for America’s Right Wing which, by the way, holds its nose for thr Trump presidency.
But, 2020 is the fire escape.
7
The landlords should be the ones up in arms and in the faces of the Senate, the House and our (small "p") president (he doesn't deserve the prestige of the the upper case). They are the ones with contracts in hand, contracts with the federal government, not with their individual tenants. Why should the destitute have to be the ones to initiate court proceedings to ward off eviction? Their contract says they are responsible for $110/mo on the rent. If they pay that, they are in good stead; it is the government that is delinquent, not the tenant.
By the way, poor whites, generally accepted as the core of Trump's base, suck up more government assistance than do the poor of all the other races and ethnicities. And, at that, they are still wayl behind the ultra-wealthy in their sponging off the federal gravy train.
6
The world is laughing at the disUnited States.
Mr. Trump cares not a whit about the people his obsession for a stupid wall is impacting.
9
The "wall" is only a pretext. McConnell's actions make it clear.
The real purpose of Republicans in the Senate, under his leadership and with Trump's addled nasty assistance, is to "shut down" Democrats.
If you understand that the hypocritical "evangelical" wing regards Democrats as Satan, it all begins to make sense.
Jesus (see the gospels) had choice words for these egotists who have confused the demogaguery from the pulpit and the racist voices in their heads: whited sepulchers, casters of first stones, people who cross the road unlike the good Samaritan, etc. etc.
6
The renter receiving the HUD rental subsidy in this story strangely states that this rental is her "dream home," and is let down by the lack of federal funding to cover her rent. HUD must make sure that living arrangements such as this are only temporary, whereby, the recipient is ultimately given full responsibility, within a year or so, of her obligations and not expect permanent government-funded housing because many taxpayers who receive no federal subsidy are ultimately paying for her housing.
7
Why is there so much Animus toward people who receive support for the homes they live in? I have never noticed a requirement for anyone receiving government subsidies for business ventures to feel uncomfortable and uncertain as part of their experience of receiving help. It feels like a peculiar focus of people who have enough to feel safe in their own lives to insist on a constant removal of any sense of safety or comfort for those less fortunate than themselves.
13
How many people, likely you included, who are middle or upper class, benefit yearly from a mortgage deduction? That is just another word for subsidy. Very sad that people will demonize a subsidy when it goes to the other, but not recognize it when they get it themselves.
1
Trump's shutdown: divert, divert, divert; delay, delay, delay. and don7 forget the Trump mantra of me, me, me. thr chaos strategy is to divert attention from Trump's crimes and impending prosecution. luckily, Trump will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
5
It’s not a “government shutdown”, it not paying the people who are keeping it working.
3
I feel for these people, but thank goodness the GOP is lifting Russian sanctions on the Oligarchs that control the United States! Nice job Mitch!
16
No funding for HUD and food stamps6405? disappearing soon. I bet you anything Trumps low crime rate becomes nonexistant. When people can't afford the basics like food and shelter they find a way. Often with a gun in someone's face.
6
Missing a few weeks pay is no excuse for armed robbery. 6 years minimum in the penitentiary.
Has Pelosi introduced a bill to tear down the walls between Mexico and California?
This is what has really hit me regarding the events of the past weeks.
Living and working in Baltimore I witness homelessness everyday, and in these bitter cold winter days there is never enough shelter to protect all vulnerable people. This article draws attention to the chronically underfunded private groups who seek to assist with permanent solutions, rather than placing a bandage over the gaping wound, and I hate feeling that these agencies are also caught in the crossfire.
How can we help assist these agencies and consequently, those that they serve, until the government provides the funding that they have been pledged? This is the time that those of us with means should assist, in any small way that we can to bridge the financial gap and protect anyone from eviction.
4
You don't need to take hostages if you have a good policy to negotiate. Mr. Trump and Senator McConnell are the two white men who are putting so much suffering on the table in an attempt to force bad policy.
Speaker Pelosi is right, that if she allows this style of hostage taking negotiation today, how many more times will it be used in the future. Will government shutdowns be used to get concessions on woman's rights, or policy affecting the LGBTQ community? Stand strong Speaker Pelosi, and pass the budget you agreed to in December Senator McConnell.
16
It’s time for a compromise. Politics is not a winner take all sport. Each side is representing the interests of a large part of the US population. It’s time to find a middle ground and Trump’s offer over the weekend was clearly a sign he is willing to come to the table. Let’s stop holding federal workers and the poor hostage and get the deal done.
4
I disagree with finding 'middle ground' in this situation. This is not normal. The country is being held hostage and gaslighted by a person who seeks a win at all costs. The precedent, should he prevail, would do unspeakeable harm to our system of government and who we are as a people.
5
I disagree with seeking to find 'middle ground' in this situation. This is not normal. We are being held hostage and collectively gaslighted by a person who seeks a win at all costs. President Trump does not really seek a wall. He wants a fight about the wall from which he can be seen to emerge victorious. His personal attacks on people who disagree with him demean the great office of state he holds and should not be rewarded.
5
It's way past time to eliminate the process that allows our gov't to shut down neither party has demonstrated enough responsibility to retain that power which was a mistake our forefathers made.
1
It is a simple fix. Here it is:
1) force McConnel to bring the original spending bill to a vote
2) the vote was overwhelmingly passed in the senate in December and will pass overwhelmingly again
3) send the passed bill to the White House to be signed
4) if trump refuses to sign it, the bill goes back to the senate for 60 votes to override the veto
5) override the veto and open the government back up.
MCCONNEL will not all the bill to come to the floor.
14
@FDNYMom One of the many problems with our government (at all levels) is that the rank and file of our Legislatures have no ability to bring legislation by themselves to a vote of the body. That paradigm needs to change.
1
Trump sent out a tweet yesterday praising the people that are affected by his shutdown. Trump should be reminded that tweets do not put food on the table, pay mortgages, pay for prescription drugs, etc. And they can't run to their daddies when they are in financial trouble like Trump did. Trump lacks empathy, plain and simple.
8
If Trump reads The Times, all he would have to do is look at the picture at the top of the article to make him feel he is right and he has no worries about his core base supporting him.
The reason is the family is African-American. As far as Trump is concerned, any African-American who isn't among the top 1% isn't going to vote for him anyway and knows that his supporters believe that the only people the government helps are black despite the facts showing something entirely different.
But, of course, if people cared about facts they wouldn't have voted for Trump.
3
This is tragic, yet it all seems so premeditated on Trump's part. The fact that the partial government shutdown hurts the most vulnerable among us — namely the working poor — fits in perfectly with Trump's not-so-secret plan to rid America of its 'undesirables.' It all sounds horrifyingly familiar.
4
Thank you, media, for NOT pointing out that since Republicans are renown for their lack of compassion and indifference to suffering, they can simply go along here. False equivalences? People "expect" the Democrats to fold because their capacity to see cruelty is human. No such expectations from the Republicans. And this is acceptable?
12
When are we going to see all of those compassionate folks that marched for the unborn head back to DC and march for the living that are suffering?
27
There is an incredible passage in the 1552 picaresque Spanish novel, "Lazarillo de Tormes." Lazaro, representative of the underclass, relates in the 7th treatise the following: "With help from friends and higher-ups, I was repaid for all the toil and troubles that I suffered up until then when I obtained what ai did, which was a government position, since nobody can thrive unless he has one." He became a town crier...the lowest rung on the ladder, but the highest he could attain given the structure of society. What Lazaro noted rhen still pertains in large part today as it has throughout our history. While it might be theoretically and mythologically true that anybody can do anything and become anyobe they want, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of those vulnerable in the system need the protection of government structure to remain viable, if only barely so. Private entities and individuals cannot operate at such a level and with the structure and force necessary to act as a bulwark of defense for the vulnerabke against the fickle nature of circumstance or the ravenous nature of greed...both of which consume vulnerability as an appetizer.
The government shutdown represents a lack of understanding of this reality...a reality that has been the case for centuries.
7
I hear Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are collaborating one a revised version of the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People". I'm sure there will be millions of American voters looking back fondly on the pain their own Republican government inflicted on them come election day. what a tactic!
4
Just wait until they give citizenship to all those illegals and your wages go back 25 years. All for a vote.
1
@BorisRoberts
Why don't Republicans ever blame the guy that fired you to hire an immigrant?
It's market forces you say? Well the immigrant is in the same market reacting to those same forces.
But it is the employer that makes the firing and hiring decisions.
Obama was going after the employers, curbing the demand for illegal immigrants, which employers use as a weapon to manipulate the price of labor.
Trump traded that approach which was working, for a stunt, a strategically ineffective fixed defence.
If you don't reduce the demand for illegal immigrants, they will always find a way into the country.
If you don't believe me, try reading the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith, the father of modern economics. That was his main argument: the government cannot stop the supply for something in hot demand, even when surrounded by an ocean and separated from the continent by the English Channel.
Republicans yell about Economics 101, but never read Adam Smith or the classical economists, and just believe what the Crony Capitalists tell them.
Supply Side Economics is a fake hypothesis, with no logical cause and effect mechanism, or data that doesn't contradict it. Republicans in Kansas had to reverse the tax cuts that were destroying their state. Reagan had to raise taxes too.
Supply is driven by demand not tax cuts.
The blame for the shutdown now rests firmly on the shoulders of our Dear Leader and McConnell. We all know how the little man who wrote the book on the art of the deal has been holding things up (apparently a "deal" involves no compromise because it makes you look weak). But McConnell is hijacking the very mechanics of the Constitution he claims he upholds.
Preventing a vote in any chamber because "the president will veto it" just defies logic. There are procedures in place to override a president's veto for a reason. The framers of the Constitution never wanted power to rest completely in one person.
What makes it even worse is that while he was Majority Leader during Obama's Administration, he brought multiple bills repealing Obamacare to a vote even though, "the president will veto it." Enough is enough!
18
I think this shut down and the refusal to negotiate reasonable terms on border security by the administration in favor of "show boat" politics and icons like the wall amounts to terrorist tactics. We should not negotiate with terrorists. Sadly there is always damage to the most vulnerable, We should stop the hand wringing and call upon the growing wealth of the 0.5% who have amassed much, over several administrations as this will get worse before it gets better.
7
51 gOP senate millionaires ...who could have approved the wall funding in the last two years... and are taking their salary... now withhold food stamps.
Shameful...as they continue to advertise their Christian superiority.
21
@johnw
When I talk about people that oppose everything that Jesus ever said, except that they will be forgiven for their sins (convincing themselves they can do anything and still go to heaven) I put "Christian" in quotes.
Jesus said we should help the poor and the sick, and that the greedy and rich are highly unlikely to go to heaven. I'm not a Christian, but I know a lot more about morality than most Republicans.
By the way, unlike the bible, in which a Republican can find a verse to justify almost any injustice, the Constitution is very mathematical and its plain meaning is logical and concrete.
We are not "a capitalist country," because the word capitalism doesn't appear in the Constitution at all. The Preamble calls for Justice, not profits, and promoting the GENERAL WELFARE, not he specific welfare of global billionaires and their global corporations.
Democratic centrists need to stop compromising with liars and traitors and start reading and implementing the Constitution, as the left has been trying to do for 200 years.
1
@McGloin...Bravo!
Maybe Pelosi could be more reasonable. And Schumer's comparison of Ellis Island and the southern border is laughable.
6
@LMJr
Reasonable in what way?
Americans don't want their money wasted on a futile, useless, outdated and environmentally disastrous wall. Period.
Don the con had his chance for two years with a GOP controlled Congress. Where was the big emergency then?
10
@LMJr More reasonable? Listen to yourself...the GOP had full control for Two years and the wall is such a bad idea that the GOP wouldn't even fund it!!!
8
@LMJr
Trump is the most anti-reasonable person I have ever seen.
If the Democratic Party had not bent over backward so far for so long being so pathetically reasonable, Trump would never have become president.
Chuck Schumer let's McConnell walk all over him like a doormat.
The Clintons implemented nothing but Republican Policy, from NAFTA to fracking, and they rewarded them with insults and investigations.
The further right Democrats go, the further right Republicans go.
Republicans are against most of the Constitution, and I don't believe this shut down is about the wall at all. They like to shut down the government whenever they can.
If the government is your enemy, then you are the enemy of our Republic. Compromise with traitors is tantamount to treason.
And if you want to claim that Ellis Island was somehow different than the southern border, you have to explain your argument.
1
I hate to say this but if most if not all the security folks that work the airports were to call in sick, maybe the White House and the GOP congress members would wake up. I wouldn't normally give praise to that type of behavior, but this government shut down was brought about by trump, who after temporarily spending bills were passed, he decided he wouldn't sign them, after already agreeing to do so. On Friday these good hard working people will see there second payroll check with a 0 for earnings. I thought you couldn't expect to be paid for not working, what's wrong with this picture. trump and his "pet" McConnell need to quit using the federal workers as pawns in there quest for 5.7 billion dollars for a wall most Americans don't think we need. I have no doubt the history books will judge trump very negatively as #45, but do others in the GOP who have up to now had decent careers want to be judged as a trump stooge.
6
News Flash: McConnell DOES NOT CARE about your "pain"....he just keeps kowtowing to trump, because *that* is what matters to him.
10
@Paul P.
McConnell doesn't kow tow to Trump. He kow tows to his global billionaire donors, especially the ones that are going to pay him millions as a lobbyist when he retires.
2
There is no reason to assume that this is over a border wall, and less reason to think it has anything to do with Democrats.
This may be about showing his base that he will do anything to get their wall, which as one congressman pointed out, might as well just be a statue of a giant middle finger pointing at Mexico, but there is no reason to believe what Trump says.
Or maybe this is just part of the general Republic attack on their lifelong enemy, "the government," which is Our Republic.
Economists are warning that talented people are leaving or questioning whether they should apply for federal jobs. Brain Drain.
Or Trump could be shutting down regulatory agencies like the IRS, FEC, and SEC, to keep himself out of prison, and so the extractive billionaires in his swamp can get away with more crimes.
Trump is a pathological liar and con-man who doesn't care how many people he hurts for money (see Atlantic City.). 90% of the Republican Party supports this.
Meanwhile none of the Republican Congress people who represent southern border districts are for the wall. They all think there are more effective ways to spend the money.
Republicans had two years to pass Trump's Wall funding, but Ryan and McConnell never brought it up for a vote, because they didn't have enough Republicans to vote for it. There was a deal to fund the wall and Dreamers, but Trump blew it up. It wasn't until Democrats took the House that suddenly the Wall became an emergency worthy of a shut down.
20
I am sure that Trump thinks that all of the landlords and tenants can wait- isn't that what they always do during shutdowns?
This is exactly how he ran his businesses- making people wait to be paid. Then, he would try and bargain them down on their bill eventually saying 'take it or leave it.'
This is the 'businessman' that the minority elected.
Woe to those who are not rich- you are out of luck.
And one of those is my son with disabilities. It makes one's head and heart hurt.
14
remember that come election day. and tell your friends and relatives. short take: unless you are a rich Republican mad with greed, Republicans are basically out to milk you dry for their own benefit. that is their pathology. don't help, no matter how you feel about the tactical hot button issues lthy use like guns and abortion and tax cuts. Republicans are not yor friends. Republicans are even now basically mugging America.
7
Shut downs are not new and not a single president in the past 24 years has been affected by shut downs. Clinton, Bush and Obama were all reelected for a second term. If the congress and the senate cares about the federal workers who are not receiving their pay due to the partial shut down, if they care about the homeless, the farmers and other vulnerable Americans, they will act in a bipartisan manner to secure the border and keep the USA safer and less drug addicted by appropriating a tiny fraction less than 0.1% to resolve the crisis on the Southern border once and for all by including in the spending tax payer monies for the requested money to end the border crisis and to open the government so that the pain due to the shut down is alleviated.
After trying everything possible and making reasonable compromise efforts if the president cannot get bipartisan support, he should just declare national emergency and eliminate 2 problems at the same time. Resolve the crisis on the border with appropriate measures to secure the border and deal with the humanitarian crisis as well as lift the shut down and relive the pain due to the adverse effects.
Congressional dysfunction and obstruction is not new. both Both Democrats and Republicans do it. Earlier around the beginning of this decade, Obama was obstructed from including the public option that could have provided affordable government managed health care to those who could not afford private insurance or Obamacare.
4
Yes Girish, but.....neither side really wants to fix the border. They both make money off the illegal's cheap labor.
2
@Girish Kotwal
You are right, shutdowns are not new, but previous shutdowns only lasted a few days at the most. Look how long this one is going on and how much suffering it has afflicted on so many. It's becoming a domino effect that will also hurt the general public and not just the federal workers. trump said he was proud to shutdown the government for as long as it takes.....only problem is that he won't go hungry, or have to chose between paying rent/mortgage, medicine, etc.
3
@Girish Kotwal
The drug war has been going on for 50 years. It has not reduced drug use, but it has funded criminals with enough money to finance high tech attacks on border security, plus bribes to corrupt border officials.
This is because drug users will pay almost any price for drugs, so interdiction actually increases profits for the drug trade, as Adam Smith explained bank in 1776.
If any of you capitalists ever actually read Adam Smith, you would know that one of his main arguments was that government cannot stop goods that are in high demand from crossing the border, and that attempts to do so create black markets and corruption.
The drug war weakens national security and pokes holes in the border, including planes, high speed boats, submarines, tunnels, etc.
Legalize drugs and make it extremely illegal to share with the underage (who don't have the funds to create black markets and are more susceptible to addiction). That is what market economics says.
Prohibition created organized crime, and the drug war expanded it. It also makes it easier for immigrants to cross the border.
The sun does not rise or set. Science shows that the earth revolves. Disease is not caused by evil spirits, but by microbes. Common sense is often wrong. You need science, logic, and math to find real solutions to real problems, not chants of "build the wall."
There is another, and very direct, way for real Americans to end the shutdown: Recall petitions. With very little money, why not target Mitch McConnell. Laid off federal workers could go door-to-door in Kentucky. Who wouldn't sign? The message, not just to the Senate majority leader, would be powerful. And this need not be limited. There are some easy targets among GOP senators.
6
@fred - Can I sign a recall for Pelosi and Schumer? Come up with a compromise.
5
as it is, McConnell has only a reported 30% approval rating in KY., so 7 of 10 people you'd approach are not his fans anyway.
1
@Jim
they are not the ones who proclaimed that they would be "proud" to shut down the government.
4
I can't imagine the humiliation one must feel when one has a job, is going to work each day, yet has to stand in line so that food can be on the table for the family.
Something about the 13th amendment comes to mind.
When congressionals are sighted at an airport, ALL TSA workers should institute a job action.
Then there are those that can't be touched by riding on lobbyists corporate jets.
Could the Times please expose these?
12
@Lawrence
If one doesn't want to be humiliated, one can always save for a rainy day.
People in the US prioritize savings dead last, when it should be first. Setting aside emergency funds should come before
-- having kids
-- taking vacations
-- buying a house
-- owning a car
-- cable TV, internet, smartphone, gadgets
-- wedding festivities
-- gifts
-- and many other lifestyle choices.
If people took saving seriously and did whatever it takes -- live in multigenerational household, get roommates, take the bus, carpool, eat meatless, refrain from having kids, have a courthouse $100 wedding, etc. etc. -- but instead they do all of the above, and more, and then stand around with their mouths hanging open when adversity strikes.
Newsflash: Job loss, economic recession, death, disability, illness, divorce, and other bumps in the road are not lightening bolts out of the blue -- they happen to nearly everyone at least once in a lifetime (with the possible exception of divorce) and can be anticipated and planned for.
You might not know WHEN it's coming but common sense says it's coming -- so skip the dining out, the car upgrade, the kids, etc., until and unless you get your financial house in order first.
9
Trump shutdown the government and has the power to open it. He could stop the suffering he's caused at any time he wishes to. Why are we blaming everyone else!
Trump, as a dictator, is trying to reverse the legislative process, that is, make the laws then force the legislative branches of government to approve them or he won't release the hostages.
Really, is this now the way we want to govern; like Russia, North Korea, China, The Philippines, Venezuela? If so, then give in to our new dictator. The legislative process is arduous but it is the best the world has to offer and has made us, up to now, the envy of the world!
6
The shutdown is caused by a compromised Trump who wants to build a wall to satisfy his base, to get reelected. The Republicans really don’t care about people’s welfare, remember heathcare? Once you compromise on this issue there will just be more shutdowns in the future. Meanwhile the Russians are laughing at us.
7
The wall is the excuse for this shutdown, but it is not the reason for it. This shutdown is meant to get rid of permanently many government programs and agencies that Trump and the GOP want gone. They are quickly starving government to the size that they want. Fewer workers in all agencies. If there is no pay, many will find other jobs and when the government does open again those jobs will not be refilled. Don't look at this shutdown in any positive way because it is the end of something. We should all be concerned.
20
@Meg
Rachel Maddow spoke about that last night.
The other possible outcome is that many people, who never realized what they get as government services, payments and loans, are now going to understand "which side their bread is buttered on."
They may end up being very much MORE protective of government that provides those services, payments and loans.
Even conservatives (farmers, small business people) are getting harmed by the shutdown, and may realize that they NEED those "gummint" services, payments and loans.
6
don't hold your breath, Joe. these are not Ed Brooke Republicans.
1
The Great Negotiator. Is America great again yet?
The lack of human empathy possessed by Trump and the entire GOP is breathtaking, and it is on display for the world to see.
Democrats cannot give in. Prove that hostage-taking works, and there will be no end to it forevermore.
Good times.
13
I can’t help but think that the shrinking relevance of national media plays a role in this. Having lived in a small country where a murder is national news, I notice how hard it is to bridge the physical distance gap here. There’s very little connection or empathy with far away States.
I think that if McConnell and The President fire most of these federal employees, Trump country would be just fine with it.
2
For a measly 5 billion, Pelosi could stop this immediately. But it’s personal—and political. He simply will not concede to Trump, anything he wants. Its all about 2020.
All consideration of what is good for the country is out the window. Ironically, all these Democrats who now oppose border security so vociferously, voted for it in the recent past.
6
@Jesse The Conservative
Democrats are not going to be blackmailed by the president. He -- self-admittedly -- owns this, remember?
Besides, if the wall was such an emergency, why wasn't funding for it passed over the past two years when the GOP had a majority in both houses? Speaking of "personal and political."
10
@Earthling, the Democrats in the Senate would have filibustered any border wall funding. They have voted against every single Trump initiative—in lock-step. They are the resistance—and the enemy within.
1
@Jesse The Conservative you apparently have forgotten the years that McConnell obstructed the Obama administration every step of the way and proudly owning his words: " The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.+-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, quoted in National Journal, November 4, 2010.
4
If the Trump-led GOP would use this shutdown as a vehicle as well to their program to eliminate workers from the government payrolls as the president is doing to the executive branch and in so doing to dissaude people who would want to work for the government, then the effects of less government are now being felt as well. Perhaps the silver lining is that more will realize what necessary function our government provides.
And by the way how are people paying their heating bills in the deep cold of winter?
2
I can see a problem in cities with housing shortages/affordability issues, this can snowball into a crisis if Section 8 tenants are pushed out and those units are leased to higher income households. Part of the reason landlords work with HUD/Section 8 is the guarantee of income, and between this disruption and market rate demand, if I was a landlord, I'd get out of the Section 8 business.
Like it or not, we have a system in which a lot of people depend on federal subsidy for their lives. Turning that off without warning seems so cruel.
5
@MC not just necessarily in cities. Rural areas are hard-hit by affordable housing issues. Social services likes to house these people in the middle of nowhere, with no access to public transportation, food stores, doctors (we had a 6-unit "apartment" on an old dairy farm at the end of our road, at least 15 miles from the nearest grocery store and doctors and absolutely NO public transportation) . The landlords like Section 8 as it USUALLY means their rent payment is guaranteed.
2
Trump and the GOP have shown that the security and well being of the country is the last thing that they're thinking of.
If they truly cared for this country they would forget about the wall for now and get the government back to work so that "We the People" would be taken care of and the agencies that truly watch out for us are fully staffed.
5
Can we add “Trump Shutdown...” in the title. Don’t let the dog off the leash.
7
So what's the problem? As long as the victims of the shutdown are lazy, shiftless poor people, minorities and government employees, the consequences seemingly serve only to give an endorphin rush to Republicans and their sadistic leaders.
9
Will you people just quit pretending that Trump cares about anybody except himself and his ego. The Republican Party has shown themselves to be the party of Putin and the Russian oligarchs . Controled through the NRA. The deplorable‘s are too dumb and too lazy to figure it out. Meanwhile Mueller doesn’t have enough evidence to impeach this criminal yet? And Congress wants to wait for more evidence?
7
I expect that a significant amount of trumps core believe these programs should be eliminated, so probably see the shutdown as a positivr.
7
We don't have a functioning government. We have a rump state governed by a madman that is all, but exhausted and is incapable of governing itself, let alone of meeting global challenges in the new century. May God save the once great United States of America.
9
I seem to remember somebody saying that the nine most frightening words in the English language are:
"I'm from the government and I am here to help."
He also famously said: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." That was at his Inaugural on January 20, 1981.
https://youtu.be/XObcP69dhCg
Funny thing. We have just been through a mere four weeks of the shutdown of about ONE QUARTER of the "gummint" and there are people who are screaming, literally screaming, that it needs to be reopened ASAP.
Four weeks. Twenty eight days. Not the rest of your life.
I suspect quite a few of those screaming people are CONSERVATIVES, who skew Republican.
Gee, maybe Saint Ronnie was WRONG.
"Gummint" does not seem to be the problem.
LACK of "Gummint" appears to be the problem.
17
Homeless, vulnerable Americans.
Ask Mitch McConnell how much he cares about them.
7
This quote describes my feelings about Trump in general and his government shutdown in particular: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” - Martin Luther King Jr
14
Trump, McCoward and other Republican senators will pay dearly for this shutdown. Maybe Deripaska will reward them for lifting sanctions on his companies, but maybe Congressional Dems will find enough GOP allies to reimpose them. The rot is beginning to reek well outside Trump's garbage pile of corruption.
2
Crocodile tears. If Pelosi and Schumer really, really cared they could fix this in a heartbeat. Where is the celebrated compassion of the Democrats when it's needed?
31
@Edward Wagner trump alone is responsible for this government shut down, which didn't have to happen, as spending bills were passed, he could have signed. trump alone could open the government back up, and quit using federal workers as pawns. that is if trump really cared about any other humans but himself and his family, but he doesn't.
83
@Edward Wagoner, that is what hostage takers do. The criminal depends on the caring of the other, that is what motivates the taking of hostages in the first place. Trump and his Republican party, could care less about the people they are affecting with this shut down. They are intentionally using this ploy against the Democrats, who do care, to manipulate us all for the benefit of the few. That is why the Republicans are complicit in this insanity.
Trump is a thug! He's extorting us all for the 30% of this country who simply don't want a Democracy.
64
@Edward Wagner. The GOP enjoyed two years in control of the Senate, House and the Oval. ...Nothing. Now, he’s holding innocent federal employees hostage, causing them untold pain and suffering. And he does not care. Did not even mention them in his “big announcement” last week! This is a trump shutdown. (He said it himself. He owns it). This not about securing our borders with a ridiculous wall. It’s about indulging the racist anti-immigrant fear mongering that excites trump’s base. It’s also about indulging and bolstering the ego of the spoiled, calloused Oval Offce occupant. This is not “winning.”
70
Not long ago people in this country took care of their own. Dads were responsible enough to provide for their children and extended family members stepped in when needed.
Now, the responsibility for first care has been transferred to “...nonprofit groups dedicated to helping low-income renters...scrambling to survive without the lifeblood payments from HUD that began being cut off on Jan. 1.”
We ought to be ashamed for passing our individual responsibilities off to the federal government. Shame shame shame on us.
BTW, non-profit doesn’t mean the directors of these “non-profits” don’t draw nice salaries. You can bet they profit.
14
@Achilles
I'm a Democrat but I have to agree. Why aren't these families banding together to solve their problems? Why are these women reproducing with shiftless, unreliable men (and yes, I have donated to Planned Parenthood for more than 30 years without fail, and support abortion rights) who don't co-parent with them or support their offspring?
I don't have a problem helping people who are victims of involuntary misfortune like illness or disability. But when they continually add to the problem by producing one new human being after another, for the rest of us to take care of, my sympathy and desire to help wanes.
I don't have a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a picket fence and I don't really care to get up each day and go to work so that someone who couldn't be bothered to use a condom gets her dream home.
21
"A few days later, the dream was deferred."
"a three-bedroom house, bracketed by a white picket fence"
Well, that's a story that can be told many times over by myself, and many of my colleagues, working 80 hours straight on a 'good' stretch. I'm sorry, but what's wrong with a multiplex with a chain link to keep the kids from running off? When times are tough, you make do with what comes down the pike. By all means, help the vulnerable in a reasonable tax-payer efficient way. Meanwhile, HUD needs to be audited.
10
This will not end well for Trump and the complicit Republican Party who are trying to defeat the legislative process, (defined by the Constitution) by putting Us in a choke-hold. We spoke loudly and clearly when we elected a Democratic Congress. This is the Republican's last gasp. They are willing to watch us lose all we've worked for; our homes, our retirement, our jobs, our loved ones who need care... for what? To hold onto power? They've lost already. The Republican Party is finished.
14
With each passing day it becomes more brutally surreal... all this because Trump could not get GOP controlled House/Senate to build his wall - and now Dem controlled. Get the government working - and work out Immigration Reform separately.
7
@Jimi
I'm not sure the wall is the actual reason for the shut down.
It could be that Trump just wants to attack the federal government and those that work for it. The Republicans have been calling the government "the enemy" for decades, even though the government is Our Republic, as defined by the Constitution.
It could be that Trump is shutting down regulatory agencies like the IRS, FEC, SEC, etc., to hamper investigations into his corruption.
It could be that Trump shut down the government so that his billionaire friends could get away with looting the national wealth.
It could be that Trump wanted to test his ability to abuse emergency powers, so that when the evidence of his crimes is made clear he could use emergency powers to make himself, " president for life." The media, including the NY Times was actually saying it may be the best way out of the shut down, so they failed the test!
The are many reasons why Trump would want to shut down the federal government, and believing the story told to you by a pathological liar is not a good idea.
Please keep in mind that the some not all of the federal government is shut down because one person is only concerned with building a wall/fence. Not the welfare of the citizens of the United States. Last time I checked that should be the number one priority for the president of the United States is the welfare of the citizens. What am I missing?
13
I commend the Democratic leadership for dismissing Trump's immigration-policy compromise as a "nonstarter."
But I’m concerned about the Democratic leadership’s own nonstarter: its passivity toward Forcefully Articulating that the wall issue must be handled separately from the more critical near-term need to reopen the government.
Trying to negotiate with selfish, narcissist Trump is like talking to a wall. Therefore:
It is time for every congressional Democrat to march into Mitch McConnell's office (as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did last week) and hold a Sit-In until McConnell agrees to submit, for a vote, the already-existing bill that would reopen the government.
At the same time, in a show of solidarity congressional Democrats should rally their constituents to Mass Activism against the president and the GOP.
9
@Ken
I agree that Democrats should be pressuring McConnell and holding mass demonstrations. (Instead of asking for $3, ask people to do something..)
But Democrats also need to propose a comprehensive immigration plan that would actually fix the broken immigration system. Letting Trump propose a plan that includes more judges and administrators, first, was a strategic mistake.
As the father of market economics Adam Smith pointed out in the Wealth of Nations, when government tries to close borders to goods or people that are in high demand, government cannot stop the flow across the border, but can only create corruption and black markets. Adam Smith lived in Scotland, the most remote corner of Europe and even there, Hadrian's Wall kept out nothing.
1. Make legal immigration faster and more efficient, without compromising background checks. If the process to enter legally wasn't measured in decades, most people would go that route.
2. Prosecute employers that hire illegal immigrants. Blame the company that fired you.
3. Give all workers the same protections for pay, overtime, and benefits, so that immigrants are harder to use against citizens.
4. Back to Adam Smith, the drug war is bad for border security. Making drugs illegal has only financed high tech attacks on border security for 50 years. It does not reduce drug use. Make it extremely illegal to share with the underage, but leave adults alone. Demand side solutions are more effective.
Dreamers are a symptom.
1
Nothing will change until trump’s base feels the pinch, because both trump and mitch live in fear of them. Sure, if TSA or air traffic controllers strike in some measure, bringing a halt to the entire country, they will make a deal. But we will still be in the same position with trump supporters still mad that they’re ‘not hurting the people they’re supposed to be hurting’. They need to learn the hard way that they, too, have skin in the game of government.
6
I want a tax refund for 1/12 of what I've paid for 2019 given the government is closed.
9
@Mons I want in fact more government, since Trump is increasing my taxes.
Republicans are realizing many of their long-held goals via the Trump Shutdown, so I wouldn't look for it to end anytime soon. It's certainly not about $5.7B or a wall; if it were, Republicans had two solid years to secure funding for Trump's ridiculous wall. They are all terrified of being investigated, and having a hobbled federal government makes any investigation that much more difficult. Americans made a terrible mistake giving these people power.
159
And certainly Trump is more interested in harming this country than anything else, and he's found another way to do that. I agree it has nothing to do with any wall. It benefits Russia for us to be harmed, so this stone kills at least two birds.
1
@Christopher M
One of the clearest statements of the situation I've read or heard.
1
This is Trump's real "American carnage"--the inhumane selfish pain inflicted on his own employees whom he's holding hostage while demanding a $5.7 ransom for a wall that the majority of Americans do not want nor need before he'll release them. And, the white male Republican Party patriarchy is all-in in trying to legislate this ransom payment. It's time for the for these unpaid employees, many of whom are forced to work, to consider the only option they have to end the gridlock by taking a leaf from French workers and donning yellow vests and taking to the streets of America in peaceful protests. America has to see for themselves the face of those being used as political pawns by a cruel autocrat who lacks any sense of compassion or empathy and those in the Senate who are enabling him. If the Republicans continue to ignore our Constitution, at least their, and our, employees can exercise their 1st amendment "right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
104
@Paul Wortman
The President is willing to negotiate, but Schumer and Peloci aren't willing. It's now their shutdown.
They basically responded to the President's speech with, "Give us everything we want and nothing that you want, and then we'll discuss what you want sometime in the future." Just like they've done with everything else, where things get kicked down the road, but never corrected.
4
@Steven Offering something temporarily that you originally took away is not negotiating. As Stephen Colbert explained it, it is like taking hostages, then offering to temporarily return them in exchange for having demands met. That is not compromise.
Democrats responded with 'open the government then talk'.
15
@Steven trump is not willing to negotiate. He is offering nothing. The courts have already protected DACA. Why would Pelosi and Schumer trust the liar in chief with a "temporary" fix? As soon as he gets funds he would do an about face. He and McConnell own this shutdown. He had two years to do something and couldn't get it done.
18
Trump will never give in to Pelosi and Schumer on his own. His ultimate value is his ego, and he cares about the appearance of "winning" more than anything else. Any suffering caused to these "losers" can easily be explained away in his mind.
Pelosi and Schumer will not give in to Trump either. They cannot let the President force them to fund a wall that by all accounts will not work and is opposed by 60% of the people.
McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate are the weak link. They will sue for peace if and when they conclude that following Trump will be bad for their election hopes. That day is not so far off because America cannot function without the federal government.
58
@Lyle P. Hough, Jr.
"..by all accounts will not work.."
Not by the accounts of the Border Patrol seen on TV daily.
4
@LMJr you are watching the wrong news then. Most illegal aliens are from visa overstays, NOT border crossings. Most drugs come in through other entry point in cargo containers or on trucks, NOT through the border. The border patrol agents have stated that a wall impedes their view to secure the border. It will cost 25 to 30 billion to complete, necessitating the destruction of protected species and stealing of people's lands. WHY do we need the wall?
15
@Lyle P. Hough, Jr. I agree.
A fraction of the 53 GOP Senators could stop this immediately by demanding Mitch McConnell allow the senate to vote on bills they already passed and sent to the House in December 2018.
Trump may have started this, it is the GOP that is allowing it to continue.
19
Just out of curiosity, because I have never heard this come up. Does Congress and the Executive branch still get paid during a shutdown? They need to share in the pain if they are still getting paid because only if the have real skin in the game will they work to get something done.
66
@Matt Caiazza
Yes they do get paid, and a number of them have voluntarily given up their paychecks in solidarity with those not getting paid. (Presumably, and a tad cynically, many of those who did so can afford to miss a paycheck or three without having to beg the landlord to not evict them...)
26
I would feel better if they took their paychecks and donated the money to local assistance programs for the furloughed workers. Most of them won't miss a paycheck - the money would do a lot more good as a donation.
23
@Matt Caiazza...Yes they do, but it actually would not matter to them if they all gave up their pay as well as the vast majority of the congress is wealthy to begin with, if not multimillionaires, very well off with plenty of savings to weather any storm.
15
So a President is elected on very clear platform and the also elected house of representatives cannot agree on a supply bill. Rather than blame either side for trying to keep their promises blame the governmental system. There should be a constitutional means to break this deadlock. Perhaps the Supreme Court should have the power in extreme circumstances to call new elections for Congress and the Presidency.
18
@Mark there is a procedure to break the deadlock. The senate needs to agree to approve the plan congress previously approved. Then if Trump vetos, congress and the senate should approve by 2/3 majority. We just had a congressional election and the results were clear. A re-election would likely result in and even higher democratic % than what we just got. Now an emergency Senate election might be interesting. If the democrats decisively won that, then the bill could likely be passed and overriding the presidential veto might be possible.
7
@Mark
The Supreme Court could start with making these shutdowns illegal. But someone needs to make the case. Anyone? People are suffering. We are still not a democracy and kings and queens still reign.
9
This is why we supposedly have 3 coequal branches: Congress, the president, and the, hmmm, who are they again?...oh yeah, I'd forgotten who they are since they've been so silent, submissive, and lacking leadership - THE GOP LEAD SENATE.
And where, oh where is our "leader" of the Senate, Mitch McConnell?? Well, rather than rising to the urgency of the impact of the shutdown on ordinary Americans. he's been hanging back, not worrying a whit about suffering farmers, TSA workers, low income folks, or even the President's security detail. Instead, he's been squandering what legislative ability he has until he could craft a setting that would stick it to "the other side".
Shameful, and an abdication of his duty to the American people.
14
It's time to end this shutdown. Democrats may be miscalculating the amount of opposition to the wall. A Wall is a simple concept that appeals to our need for action even if it is costly and ineffective. Some walls are revered, like the great Wall of China.
15
Simple, expensive, and not as effective as other solutions.
25
@Kevin
We did not elect a Democratic congress by the widest mid term margin in history so Democrats could bow and scrape to the naked orange emperor. We got the largest turn out in a century and that huge margin to stop the clown, not enable his lunacy further.
63
@Kevin so the American taxpayers should pay for a wall that is ineffective and might be revered? From what I understand the wall in China only slowed down some invaders. It never stopped Genghis Khan. Remember him? He comes from that country that is landlocked between Russia and China: Mongolia. On December 11, 2018 Trump, on video and audio, said he will own the shutdown and not blame Democrats, During the 2016 election he constantly went around like a classic Greek chorus repeating that "Mexico will pay for the wall." Trump has an army. Let him march his army into Mexico City and raid its central bank if Mexico does not cut him a check.
35
This is how schoolyard bullies get what they want. They pick on the weakest and most vulnerable in the schoolyard, stealing their lunch money, baseball caps, candy, sneakers, dignity, self-worth and pride, anything the bullies perceive as worthwhile to demean others so they can feel powerful.
Trump has been doing this his whole life, dodging the draft, cheating his investors, stiffing his suppliers, (remember the piano dealer in NJ he never paid for 14 Steinway for his bankrupt casinos)?
Is anyone really surprised that this is his course of action to get what he wants so he can fulfill his need to think he’s a winner? The problem now is Mitch McConnell refusing to hold a vote in the Senate to fund the government.
America is now being held hostage by this bullying child in the White House and this corrupt Majority Leader of the Senate.
147
@RMC
Yes, and his base is not oblivious to this, not pretending is not happening, and not believing Trump's lies.
90% of the Republican Party supports Trump BECAUSE he lies, bullies, steals, and doesn't pay his taxes.
If any of you are still trying to "understand the Trump voter," you only need three words:
Hate, greed, and violence.
6
Even though I am not a federal worker, I would gladly sacrifice a day's pay to stand alongside all 3.2 of them on the picket line were they to instigate a real shutdown of the government - nay, of our country - by virtue of a one-day nationwide strike.
Let the President feel the real impact of his churlish and naive "negotiating technique", and finally bring this nonsense to an end!
78
@We the People. Yes and a nationwide strike in solidarity for as long as it takes could be very effective.
I am ashamed of our country. I find myself unable to explain this situation in my current travels, when Europeans ask what is going on. They cannot believe that the people are not yet in the streets. Frankly, neither can I. We give trillions in corporate welfare, from the recent tax cut through the mortgage crisis bailouts, the overall tax code, and on and on. Meanwhile, people live in tents on the streets of ... New Delhi? Manila? No. The United States of America. What the poor receive in support is a genuine pittance, and the shortage of available public housing is reflected in the growing mass of tent cities.
Reagan’s coup d’etat, when he eliminated the Fairness Doctrine (spawning hate radio and Fox “News”), gutted arts and social programs, and made it acceptable to openly deride the poor has been a long time aborning. Now here it is.
May McConnell, Trump and the rest of the complicit know cold, hunger and despair without end. I pray for relief for the poor, massive marches and protests, and a miracle of compassion. What dreadful times.
169
@Bohemian Sarah It would help if we stopped the constant drumbeat for ever-increasing population (not just here in the US, but everywhere) to support the current Ponzi-scheme style of capitalism. Put the same amount of effort into containing human population that is put into cats and dogs, and the country would be a much better place in 2-3 generations.
1
@Bohemian Sarah
The day will come when millions take to the streets, and that is when one will see the raw violence that lives in many, many Americans' hearts. It will not be pretty, but happen it will.
Too many Americans have convinced themselves that "government is the problem, not the solution", that pat phrase introduced to us by Ronald Reagan. What they don't allow for are the dispossessed; chronically ill, very young and very old who rely on government to make their lives bearable. We live in a capitalist society with government programs to bring aid to the lest of us. Many Americans need to get used to that idea and support it.
80
It's been going downhill since that statement by Reagan(which was either a justification or preamble for his tax cuts). How can a democratic society function if a democratic government is demonized?
18
@biglefty The last thing Republicans want is a democratic government.
9
@Patrick Stevens
Yes,
According to the Constitution of the United Stars of America, "the government" is how democracy gets things done in Our Republic. So Republicans call government "the enemy" because they are against the Constitution, and want to impose a new king who will reward them with riches, like a feudal system, which like Trump Inc., is based on personal loyalty, but with global corporations.
The billionaires bought controlling shares in all of mass media so they could replace government (one person, one vote) with "crony capitalism" (one billion dollars, one billion votes).
The Constitution demands Justice, first, but Republicans are against justice.
But, even enlightened self interest should be enough to tell you that you need to invest in the people if you want to have a healthy economy and a healthy democracy.
Instead Replicans offer a combination of hate, greed, and violence as the solution to every problem, centrist Democrats would rather compromise with them than the workers and left activists that are the historic base of the Party, and global corporate mass media treats that as only logical, while while ignoring or making fun of anyone that is not penny wise and pound foolish.
The right is wrong, the establishment center is corrupt, and the left is essentially correct. If the media were liberal, it would say so, instead of pushing supply side economics for 40 years.
3
Americans are terrorized over their immediate futures and suffering needlessly because a President demands funding for a wall that would be futile in enhancing border security.
Taking hostages works when terrorists have their demands met and Americans can look forward to more hostage-taking and more terror if Congress pays the ransom.
It is doubly concerning when the US Senate abdicates its role as a separate legislative body timidly bending to authoritarian demands for funding a wall that will not work. This refusal to act reasonably makes no sense. Stubborn insistence does not make an ineffective border wall effective.
Since we cannot expect the President and the US Senate to act in the best interests of Americans or to find a higher purpose in the Constitution and in American, democratic, and human values, we must rely on those who do.
This attempted political coup makes no difference to those in need. If successful, though, millions more will suffer.
72
What I come away with from this article is the large and varied assistance programs, all funded by the Federal government. And the programs mentioned do not even include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare, all hugely expensive. Perceived need is unlimited, but funds are not. And Bernie Sanders and his ilk want to vastly expand Federal expenditures for such things as universal health care and free college education. It's just common sense that at some point, the entire house of cards will fall. I know--liberals are tone deaf to these considerations. Just keep spending.
4
@ATF can you remind us which party recently rolled out a huge tax break that will massively increase the deficit and has yet to show any economic benefit?
6
@ATF Correct. Margaret Thatcher once said that "The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." A blunt statement that resonates today. Both Republicans and Democrats ignore this truism. That's a fact.
2
@jeffk
Yes, I understand that's the liberal mantra about the tax changes. But, I've yet to see a truly neutral analysis of the effects of the tax bill. Certainly, if huge corporations actually moved trillions of dollars offshore back home, and paid taxes on those funds, that would be good for the country. Are the corporations doing that? It depends on what version you accept.
Donald Trump simply doesn't care about these people; to him, they don't exist. We don't need to be completely Trump-obsessed, but we do need to be Trump-concerned. While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, Trump secretly knows that they can be led around like bulls with nose rings - only instead of bullrings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a linguistic "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of all. When we understand this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
6
@RLB In America, the next demagogue to come along will also come from the Republican Party. The GOP has become a dangerous menace and plans nothing good for America. Nothing will improve until Americans stop sending them to Washington.
2
Trump and Company belong in jail not the government.
10
This outrageous tragedy over a stupid wall that should not be considered in the first place should be the final wake up call for the populace and prove to them that leader ship does not care what about what we need and want . Politicians have always lied to the voters and then gone behind closed doors and done whatever big business and wealthy interests told them to do.
What's different is with this brazen affront to decency and common sense they have taken things to a new low that screams they are not afraid to essentially say " kiss my grits we can do whatever we want no matter how harmful and you can't do anything about it " . They all need to be booted out of Office and we need to find a way to elect representatives free of the chains of business and wealth who vote for us because they are us .
9
@VB
Right is corporate fuedalism.
Left is investing in humans and democracy, so we can move into the future. The establishment center would rather compromise with the right than the left.
Hate, greed, and violence, or
Love, sharing, and peace.
Choose a side.
Democrats - R U listening? Time to come to the table and support border security, safety of Americans and put Americans back to work. If you can't compromise - find a replacement for your job.
6
@2observe2b Do you listen? The Democrats are more than happy to discuss border security and anything else after Trump opens the government!!! It's his and McConnell's call. They're sitting on their hands and letting Faux News commentators control the government. Shameful.
7
@2observe2b
The Democrats have always funded border security. Obama built plenty of fences. Obama was going after the employers that hire illegal immigrants.
Republicans could have funded the wall when they controlled both Houses of Congress. They didn't. The shut down is an attempt by Trump to force Democrats to vote for something that southern border Republicans won't vote for, because they know it is an ineffective waste of money, and want real border security, not an extra concrete contact for Trump Inc.
Despite the denials of the Party of Trump, reality does exist, and lying doesn't make it go away.
2
Thank you to these brave individuals suffering so we can score points against Trump and his immoral wall, except if course the part across Southern California that Obama built.
2
We should use the right to peaceful gathering and demand an end to this shutdown.
Do whatever you legally can, write to your representative.
Also, perhaps we should start talking about impeachment already?
2
Well, so much for ending the carnage.
1
This is by far the cruelest, meanest, uncaring lying administration this country has ever had to endure. Never have we had a President who only cares about himself and the people be damned, even the few of his supporters. And what on earth is wrong with giulani, no one can figure out what he's babbling about. He loves to be on TV and confuse the public and adds to trumps distractions. I'm reminded of Dr. Suess's Thing 1 and Thing 2.
10
Impoverished Americans - including the elderly, the disabled, and infants and their mothers - soon will be out on the streets, and some undoubtedly will die as a result of this shutdown.
To what purpose? Trump's ego? Perhaps it's that alone. My darker suspicion is that it also stems from the drive by the little man at the Kremlin by the Potomac to please his boss, Vladimir.
With this shutdown, Putin has achieved unimaginable success.
18
@William Lazarus - Putin's goal was maximum chaos, and Trump is delivering it in spades. With the assistance of Congressional Republicans, many of whom are also on Moscow's payroll.
3
“A political system devoted to decline instinctively does much to speed up that process.” Jean-Paul Sartre
9
All in all, we’re just another chip for the wall.
As the proverb goes; “ When elephants fight, ants suffer.” This hijacking could be a bigger existential threat to most American’s way of life than 9/11.
11
“I’ll be sure to pass on your concerns,” Tiffany Ge, Mr. McConnell’s legal counsel, replied in an email to Ms. Bush."
Little does Ms. Bush knows that Mr. McConnell cares more about lifting sanctions imposed against a Russian oligarch than providing shelter for homeless veterans.
20
This is completely on Pelosi now. Trump put out an offer with compromise. Dems refuse to come to the table. We will get no where like this.
7
REALLY! Let me make sure I have this right. The deal is to give back something taking away by trump to start with. Is there a major drug trail going on in New York? Why do I ask? Because the wall is not going to stop the flow of drugs coming into the United States. A wall/fence is only going to benefit the people build it.
8
@Born In The Bronx
Trump shut down DACA and then offers a 3 year temporary "giveback" of DACA.
And you think that gets him off the hook?
By the way, the "offer" was discussed among Trump, Jared Kushner and Pence, without ANY input from Democrats.
Why should they accept that "offer", which is not a compromise?
It is more like "Let's compromise: do it MY way."
5
Hearing about the travails of government workers and the employees of small government contractors during the shutdown bores and annoys the people who created the problem and who can solve the financial woes of real people.
Donald Trump, his cabinet, his agency heads and Republicans in the House and Senate, including Mitch McConnell, simply do not care.
The plight of government workers is of genuine concern to Democrats on Capitol Hill, but they have no power to end the shutdown without agreeing to the ridiculous Trump Wall and without selling out the DACA men and women, their children, the Dreamers and the families unlawfully separated by the Department of Homeland Security at our borders.
The manufactured crisis will end only when Donald Trump and his G.O.P. enablers are made to realize that a large majority of the American people will punish the misconduct at the voting booths.
7
The Trump Shutdown is unacceptable. There can be no excuse for a government shutting down, adversely affecting millions of citizens. Trump owns this. He told all of us on national TV that he owns this. End the Trump Shutdown immediately as a precondition for discussing any existing issues.
14
It must not be overlooked, but each State controls their homeless, food stamps (snap) and HUD programs. However, without monies coming in from Federal Government/HUD for the Voucher program is a disaster because it takes forever to get a Voucher. However, once a Voucher program is not funded, our fellow Americans who are our neighbors are on the streets and have to get back into the line for a Voucher, which takes a year if lucky.
I enforce HUD discrimination laws and I've seen first hand what happens.
9
@JB Among the millions of homeless Americans are over 50,000 veterans. So much for Trump "loving the troops."
6
@Christopher M Excellent Point!
it should not be difficulty to prevent any of these cruelties in the future...no one, least of all those engaged in meeting the the preambles challenges, to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare..." should go without pay or be "furloughed."
if these are not "essential" functions what is? if those so engaged are not "essential" employees, who is?
we're better off without the congress than the coast guard.
7
And how many of these landlords will evict and convert the units to market rate, or sell to developers who convert to higher rates still? Does not bode well for our low income neighbors.
14
Democrats please start to call this the Trump Shutdown !
33
The shutdown is the result of 2 heartless individuals, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, both very rich men who really can't be bothered by poor people.
139
What’s the democratic leadership’s strategy? Fight against a fence they claim is immoral to benefit would-be crossers who Trump will never make citizens at the expense of American government workers who deserve $ and Dreamers who deserve citizenship?
8
@Chas Zimm
It is not about a fence, wall, slats, beaded curtain, etc.
It is about educating a megalomaniac, who does not understand the division of powers, about how the country he wants to rule works.
Trump is demonstrably a "give him an inch and he will take a mile" kinda guy.
If he gets away with this one, the next one will be worse.
26
The Hostage Taker in Chief started with the federal employees and the contractor employees in an effort to get his pet wall. When that didn't work, he has expanded to the poor and the vulnerable. Next, perhaps, the entire economy?
The Democrats can fold, in which case this scenario will repeat on the debt ceiling and the next round of appropriations. Or they can stand firm and enlist the entire American people to rise up and demand that the Senate approve the bills that have already passed the House.
The President will not back down unless he is forced to. The Democrats' choice is to stand and fight or to surrender.
53
@John Graybeard
Maybe the Democrats in the House can propose a bill that would allow federal employees who are working without pay to strike!
Doesn't this constitute a violation of the 13th Amendment?
Imagine - people that get tons of free money have no problem complaining. They should thank their lucky stars that they live in a country as fabulous as the USA. Let them try that in most other countries.
12
@john Sloane
Most "other countries" have far more robust and fair social services networks for their people who have fallen on hard times.
It is partially why we are dead last among "developed" nations for things like infant mortality rates, and why our life expectancy is dropping.
31
@john solace
You have clearly never needed any assistance and don't feel any responsibility for those less blessed. This "free money" is used to take care of the most basic of things such as housing and food - not a trip to Disneyland.
23
@john sloane - tons of free money, so you've never taken, say, a mortgage deduction? Or do the subsidies that benefit you, and I assure they there are many they just go by different names, not count?
1
The head of HUD is Ben Carson, an African-American who was one of the first GOP presidential candidates "opposing" Donald Trump. Carson is a former brain surgeon (yes), and the whole thing didn't pass the smell test.
Then he was appointed to head HUD, a huge agency with a huge budget, responsible to a man trained in brain surgery.
More and more, it looks like many of the unlikely group of GOP candidates on the debate stage with Trump, some gathering 1% or so of the vote, were recruited stooges with promises of future rewards.
Take a look at the line-up, and see what they are doing now. Just saying.
But back to HUD, take a look at the victims of the government shutdown (Trump's ransom deal).
15
@Samm you forgot to mention the most conspicuous irony. Trump appointed Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who was on the debate platform, as secretary of energy. Perry is infamous for forgetting the name of the department that he promised to close down if he's elected president. Drum roll: that department is the department of energy.
9
This is just what the "conservatives" want, less government. The poor, the working poor, the sick, do not matter in this war. The "bleeding heart" liberals are supposedly going to cave under the pressure.
39
If this shutdown was happening in France, Greece, Spain or other industrialized countries, the federal workers would be out on the streets marching within hours. Airports would shut down and the country's infrastructure would grind to a halt.
The TSA and other workers in critical jobs should be using this leverage. Look to how these things are done in other countries. You can guarantee the shutdown would end within a matter of hours.
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@Brian I said this a few weeks ago, a one day walkout by either the Air Traffic Controllers or the TSA would immediately end the shutdown.
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@Alan True, but - didn't Reagan fire the air traffic controllers the last time they all walked off the job? (Then Congress named an airport after him).
14
The House has passed several bills to reopen the government, one that was even passed in December by republicans. The problem is, McConnell refuses to put them up for a senate vote. This is the way it is supposed to go. In my book, McConnell is not doing his job. This is definitely a trump / mcconnell shutdown
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Why does HUD always seem to be the home of such ineptitude and corruption?
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@Rich Murphy So true. And putting Carson in charge was the most ridiculous thing ever. He needs to put on a white gown and go back in the OR where he can be effective. What he knows about housing can fit on a postage stamp.
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@Yael
Back to the OR ? Imagine being a HUD recipient and then needing Carson's brain magic in the OR. His cred is gone. I don't see him helping anyone in or out of the OR. His biases are too deep for me to trust.
3
People who are mostly affected, like the disabled woman with her two autistic children, really need the government to reopen. If anyone should be crying for answers, it is these people.
14
This is how democracies die, 40 years, at least, of wealth/corporate driven, top down policies have led to Trump, who, like the shutdown, is a symptom of US collapse.
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@Rickibobbi all civilizations /democracies have died, this one is getting close to the end also...trump is escalating the process.
1
Don't give Trump the wall. He'll go this far in a game of chicken, it will only get worse.
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Is there too much democracy?
The answer is no.
Mr Trump has focused minds on voting.
And brought into attention the Declaration of Independence.
Republicanism represented more than a particular form of government. It was a way of life, a core ideology, an uncompromising commitment to liberty, and a total rejection of aristocracy."[4]
Robert A. Divine, T. H. Breen, et al. The American Story (3rd ed. 2007) p. 147
To quote Mr Lincoln:
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong it's reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
I dream of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.
America is fine but Trump needs to attend to world affairs rather than his own alleged affairs outside of marriage with Russians.
The guy is viewed as creepy by young voters.
Groping ( sexually assaulting women) and bragging might be acceptable to Mr Pence.
Mr Trump should be arrested and charged, locked up and bailed and face trial.
Sexual assault is a most serious crime.
Mr Trump has admitted to criminal activity.
It was a way of life, a core ideology, an uncompromising commitment to liberty, and a total rejection of aristocracy."
37
Elections have consequences. Trump is proud to own this. He is on video staying exactly this.
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We have a $600 billion budget for the Defense Department and a measly $32 billion for HUD. And the President wants $5.6 billion for a wall to feed his ego. And the homeless and desperate suffer because of the shutdown.
What's wrong with America? Have we as a nation lost our moral compass, I believe we have.
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@cherrylog754: No, Republicans have lost their moral compass, if they ever had one. Hopefully this shutdown will make that clear to anyone still thinking that party was doing any good for the common American.
15
The $5.7 billion is only a down payment, you know.
And there are far more effective border securities options than a wall.
More American citizens are being hurt by this shut down than by migrants.
20
By throwing the homeless, veterans in crisis and victims of domestic violence into the street, Mr. Trump will cause the death of some of these people he is charged with leading.
Well, he did not shoot them on Fifth Avenue, but the effect is the same.
A wall on the southern border does nothing for someone dying before its construction might even begin from privations you have authorized.
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@Douglas McNeill Realality Check nothing last forever if you think the wall is issue your sadly mistaken nothing last forever . We all need to ask this question next time you purchase import . Jobs pay living wage an also pay taxs so our beautifull country can help poor. Dont be fooled about a wall is tip ice berge.
2
I totally understand the situation and I feel sorry for everyone , but what about try to get a job and stop living out of the government?
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@Alexandre Telles What sort of job would you expect the mother of two autistic children to get? Are you certain it would pay enough for her to afford specialized childcare while she worked, as well as for a secure home these disabled children couldn't escape from (and wind up getting hit by a car or vanishing forever), as well as paying for food and medical care?
In my opinion, it's not realistic (and certainly not humane) to jump to the conclusion that every impoverished and suffering person is just pretending to have genuine need, for the thrill of "living out of the government."
Learning how to empathize can be a challenge, but it's worth a try.
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The landlords renting to HUD beneficiaries are also losing out. If the beneficiary is paying $100/month and the government is paying the landlord $500 for that apartment, isn't the landlord also living off the government times five?
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People who receive government subsidies for housing generally fall into one of two categories.
A) The working poor- They work, but don’t make enough to survive without aid.
B) They cannot work- the physically disabled, the mentally ill, children, and the elderly.
There but for the grace of God....
211
Why is there no demonstration of the peoples of America against this shutdown? Trump and Co has enough money to live on, but most other Americans don't! Why nobody is protesting? I do not get it.
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I am, every week in front Republican Senator Pat Toomey's office in Philadelphia. Look is up: Tuesdays with Toomey on Facebook and Twitter. Form a group and get out there.
17
@YH Many people like the idea of a wall, more than our democrats imagine. Most Americans have enough to live on, are employed and somewhat satisfied. Shutdowns are common and usually end quickly. Only the people effected are effected and the group is relatively small and scattered across the country.
1
@Kevin a minority of the US wants a wall. Shutdowns are not common, but I agree they do usually end quickly. Unfortunately this shutdown has not ended quickly. The impacts go way beyond just government employees, and the negative economic impact already exceeds the $5.7B Trump wants for the wall and has wiped out any economic gains from the tax cut last year. You call 800,000 people impacted relatively small?
1
Instead of evicting poor people who need the Government to help with their rent as promised, we need to evict Donald Trump from the White House because he is responsible for the Government Shutdown.
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Let's face it: this shutdown is shakedown, tantamount to extortion. Quid pro quo? as in "If congress doesn't give me what I want, I won't pay the people's salary." And I'll make them keep working without pay. Call it what you want, but negotiation under these circumstances is extortion.
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I earn over $100k and make do with 1,000 sq ft 2-bedroom house that was built in the 1940s. Why does someone on the dole need three bedrooms?
15
Multigeneration family?
14
@Earthling: You are occupying a home that a low income earner could have had.
9
@Anna
No, I'm living within my means. I bought the house 22 years ago on less than half of the income I know had (though at the time I still could've been "approved" for a far larger mortgage, I borrowed prudently), lived frugally, didn't pop out offspring and then beg for handouts, paid off the house and meanwhile grew my career and my side business so that now my income far exceeds my needs.
I'm not going to rush out and get into debt just to free up a smaller place for "low income earners." If low-income earners would work harder, exercise some self-discipline, not expect all the trappings of a middle-age, middle-class lifestyle at age 25, refrain from childbearing before age 30, they could follow the same upward trajectory as I did.
3
Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer, when are you going to care more about Americans than foreigners?
8
@Frank. This is a trump mcconnell shutdown. I ask when they are going to care
35
@Frank--Senator Schumer is powerless here. Mitch McConnell leads the senate and has refused to introduce a bill passed by the house that would re-open the government and with all the chatter some people forget that fact.Trump leads by threats and his claim of being the best negotiator in the world is a joke. Being president is not like being mafia family godfather but sadly Trump thinks it is.
21
Evidently, Trump, McConnell and the Republicans have hit a double here. They have not only appealed to their base but also destroyed some of the potential voters who will be too poor or homeless to vote.
33
You’d think someone with the capacity as a neurosurgeon, Ben Carson, could figure out how to help people who need a place to live, his government job, under Donald Trump.
Carson slinks quietly into oblivion, but you can bet he cashes his government paychecks faithfully. Ironically, those paychecks are provided by some who are scraping away, but still pay taxes.....
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@MIMA. I know. Carson shows his true colors doesn't he? Really sad.
29
MIMA regarding the doctor, some people are educated beyond their intelligence.
8
“Drop dead, America !”
Love Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and the Wall of White Spite
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I have never seen shutdowns of government in UK or even India, though they are not ideally governed. Seems like a dire situation. Possibly a long term fix is needed.
17
It’s hard to believe that President Trump has any idea of the ripple effect the shutdown would have. I am curious if he is offered and daily or even weekly briefing of services that are about to run out of money and the number of ordinary people damaged by these events he so proudly vowed to own.
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Likely not, but from his record in business it sounds like it wouldn't make one whit if difference!
He's simply repeating old patterns by once again stiffing those who have worked for him!
8
@Luvs2Paddle The only way that Trump would get any information is via Fox News and I doubt they are talking up the ripple effect. If you believe what is written, Trump does not like briefings and does not like to read. Cabinet meetings are held so the secretaries can praise "dear leader", not talk about problems.
8