Unless you’re an American under total mental lockdown, you are aware that there was yet another government shut down recently. It seems it’s a common occurrence, if only for a few days, every time there is a budget that needs to be passed. Depending upon which traditional side you’re on, it’s either the fault of the Republicans, or it’s the fault of the Democrats. Your side is fully righteous in their demands, and the other side is just being belligerent and unwilling to compromise. Neither side is budging, and both sides are working diligently (depending on whether you listen to politicians or to people complaining).
As a libertarian thinker, it’s easy to cheer on the thought of a government shutdown. To imagine a respite from “big brother” and the overreaching arm of illegitimate control over individual liberty would be nice indeed. However, this really isn’t that at all. This sort of government shutdown usually means “non-essential” personnel go home, while many others are forced to continue working without pay until government is in full operation again. Then, everyone receives their full pay that was missed. Contractors who were blocked out can return to their contracts as well. In the meantime, we’ve spent no less money, government hasn’t stopped enforcing debilitating laws and regulations, and liberty really hasn’t changed at all.
In the US, all that changes under a government shutdown is that people who were hired to do a job and depend on their paycheck like everyone else, have to figure out some way to get by with no pay for a while. One could argue that maybe government employees should go into these jobs fully aware of this risk (especially given that it seems to be an almost permanent threat every time it’s time to fight over the budget), but let’s be realistic. Only a very small portion of Americans have enough savings set aside for unexpected and immediate loss of income. Not to mention, these employees are essentially under a contract – a legal promise to pay for work. They haven’t been fired, and they are not under breach. Instead, the government is under breach and is not holding up its end of the deal. One could also call into question why the government continues to employ anyone who is “non-essential.” However, if you suddenly stop paying someone an amount you agreed, unless they are fired or let go, then the promise is broken, and the employer is in breach.
A government shutdown, at least of most government functions, would be both a wondrous and glorious thing. It’s what I would love to see, and I’m positive most libertarians would as well. But, that would require actually shutting down those parts of government – ending funding for them and closing them for good. There would be no expectation of future work for employees, just as there is none when a private business closes. I know we libertarians want government to shut down, but not this way. We want to stop having to pay for things that shouldn’t be necessary. We want to end overreach, not just pretend to suspend it (even though it hasn’t been suspended in the slightest). The laws and regulations are still there, and they will be enforced, either now or when work resumes, retroactively.
It isn’t right to force people to work without receiving their pay, and it isn’t right to jerk people around over a political fight. But that second part is at the real heart of the matter. As long as government is this large and controls this much, there will always be political fights. We can hate it and find it absurd all we want, but until the power of it all doesn’t mean that much, these kinds of government shutdowns will always exist, perpetuated by political maneuverings to gain advantages in power that only exist because we allow it. Unfortunately, the only answer for people who aren’t getting paid to work is that many of those jobs shouldn’t exist. I agree that to work and not get paid is wrong, but if you don’t want that to happen to anyone else, then you should consider that the reason this happens is because government is too large in every aspect, across every department and every overreaching arm the government has.
We do need to shut government down. I would say that at least most of it needs to be shut down. I find a few things to be necessary evils, but I will quote the perhaps overused words of Ron Paul: “I want a government so small you can barely see it.” However, it’s best to shrink it in courses, over a period of time. Of course, that would assume a miracle of the majority of people recognizing that it needs to be done. I fully support those who are having to work without their pay – especially the military who signed on to potentially sacrifice their own lives. Their families don’t deserve it. However, I also think that at some point, everyone needs to recognize that this problem exists only because of the size of our government. The only way to fix it is to shrink it until it eventually just doesn’t really matter. That means many of these jobs won’t exist, but it also means that there is no incentive for this sort of thing to happen.
Featured image: Al Jazeera
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Danny Chabino
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