The longest federal government shutdown in our country’s history is finally nearing its end with the United States Senate reaching a tentative deal this past Sunday evening.
It wasn’t the first federal shutdown, and, unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last federal shutdown either.
Every few years the Republicans and Democrats play this same tired, broken record with only a few song lyrics changed. The Washington politicians will bicker and barter with brinksmanship diplomacy waiting until right up until the very last moment to avoid a government shutdown or shutting the government down for days or weeks requiring many federal employees to work without paychecks until the shutdown is over.
During the most recent shutdown, we also had poor families, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, being denied their SNAP benefits that help them provide food for their families. We also had thousands of airline flights cancelled inconveniencing fliers nationwide.
Then, members of Congress announced that they have reached a deal to end the shutdown agreeing on a compromise they could have and should have reached months ago and long before the shutdown even happened.
The exact reason for each shutdown varies as does the party most to blame for each shutdown, but I say enough already to both parties.
I say the time has come to pass the big, beautiful “do your darn jobs or you’re fired” constitutional amendment for members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the Vice-President and President of the United States.
The amendment would simply state that if at any time the United States government shuts down for failure to extend the debt ceiling limit, then all sitting members of the house, senate, the vice-president and the president are all ineligible for re-election or for election ever again to federal office.
Put another way, do your jobs in a timely manner or you’re fired!
I am pretty sure that if, we, the people, could get this proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot, then it would easily get ratified with probably 60 or 70 percent of the popular vote, if not more.
Given that many of our politicians in Washington, D.C., are some of the most self-serving people on the planet, I am pretty sure that not only will we not see a government shutdown again, but that Congress will make sure that everything regarding the debt ceiling gets done early with plenty of time to spare.
Will the powers that be in Washington, D.C., ever allow the big beautiful, do your darn jobs or you’re fired constitutional amendment? It is highly doubtful, but it should get done for the country’s sake.
In the absence of getting that amendment through, the country needs demand a different constitutional amendment laying out a few new ground rules governing future federal government shutdowns.
First, if air-traffic controllers, TSA agents, and military personnel among other federal employees aren’t getting a paycheck and/or poor people aren’t getting their SNAP benefits due to a federal government shutdown, then Congress, the president and the vice-president don’t get paid either until the shutdown ends.
Second, if the federal government is shut down due to Congress’ failure to do its job and other federal workers are required to be at their jobs without getting a paycheck until the shutdown ends, then every sitting member of Congress needs to be in the building working at least five days a week without a paycheck too until the federal government re-opens.
Fair is fair.
I would encourage people to call their Congressman and U.S. senators demanding these changes.
If we, the people, make enough noise then maybe something will get done.
