Government shuts down, and we're still here
I was a Governor for eight years. I know a little bit about running a government, being the “Chief Executive” of bureaucracy.
And I can tell you this. If my government lawyers came to me and said, even though 83% of the government can remain open under a so-called “shutdown”, that I didn’t have the authority to pay the death benefits to families of fallen American service members, I WOULD FIND SOME NEW LAWYERS.
Make no mistake, this “shutdown” (which is really only a modest slow-down) is an embarrassing display of the collective incompetence of our government. It won’t even save any money. Instead, if we ever get an honest accounting, I promise you that we will find that it has, in reality, cost us taxpayers a bundle. It obviously costs more to close an open-air monument than to leave it open. It costs more to shut down a website for a few days than to simply leave it alone. And then there are the government employees, through no fault of their own, who will end up being paid for not working. And now we have States loaning the Feds money to keep national parks open -- with no real promise of being repaid.
At the same time, this slow-down has shown Americans some things that are worth noting. First, while some damage has been done to undeserving people by this exercise in mismanagement, the reality is that, 11 days into the shutdown, we’re still here. The world has not come to an end. We’re getting a glimpse of the big-government advocates’ worst nightmare: Americans seeing that much of what government does really isn’t necessary.
It’s interesting that some have suggested “reopening” the government in pieces, consciously deciding which programs to restore. While doing so in response to political pressure is not the best way to govern, it is amusing that this approach has been widely rejected by the politicians. It’s amusing because THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE. That’s why there is an appropriations process, and why there is supposed to actually be a budget. But to the politicians in Washington, who haven’t actually adopted a budget in years, going through a process to actually debate and decide what to spend money on has become a radical idea.
In short, as ridiculous as it is, this “slow-down” is an opportunity, and the Our America Initiative and I are seizing it. Beginning tomorrow, I will be talking about the utter dysfunction of the government on the national news. Later this month, I will be traveling to Washington, DC, to carry our message directly to the politicians who are the problem.
But we need more than just my voice. We need yours. Your contribution at OurAmericaInitiative.com makes it possible for us to spread our message of fiscal sanity, small government and liberty across the Internet, to the media, and most important, to the millions of Americans who share our views.
This “shutdown” gives us a chance to put liberty and freedom from a government that is out of control in front of the American people -- as a real alternative to the status quo. Help us seize that opportunity! Go to OurAmericaInitiative.com today and help.
Thank you.
Governor Gary Johnson
Honorary Chairman
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