Because It Matters To Someone

Today I heard someone talking about that he/she has not been impacted by the government shutdown then it shows that it probably isn't that big of a deal.  I thought, "This is the reason that we have problems like the government shutdown.  When we look at the world only through our eyes, then we ignore those that may be suffering."  Then I read Kallis entry about those with plenty often disregard those with less and it made unfortunate sense.

The idea that this government shutdown is no big deal is not limited to the one person in my earshot.  People like Stuart Varney from Fox News

Look, most people won't notice. If the government shuts down at midnight tonight, most people will not notice. National parks are closed. Eight hundred thousand federal workers furloughed, OK. Most people won't notice that. What Wall Street is worried about is a totally separate issue.

And people like Ted Cruz and the Tea Party,

When the US government runs out of money for the following fiscal year…losing its ability to pay its bills…it’s forced in theory to shutdown. And thanks to the Obama administration’s out of control spending…ignored was Economics 101 which teaches you cannot spend more than you take in…the US will hit the current debt ceiling of $16.7 trillion and go into default in mid-October, which likely will have already translated into a ‘supposed’ government shutdown. 

The government function is never a big deal until it actually affects you.  And then you have all sorts of people that complain why the government isn't there to provide what I want.  That is when you have people that voted to close the government because it is not really important, but then pretend to fit the big evil government shutdown. 

Thune and Noem fall into that last category.  The both have voted against a clean CR and end the shutdown, but now that a real disaster has hit South Dakota, they are reminding people the importance of government when it comes to helping ranchers and farmers and families hit by the snow storm.  Instead of giving credit to Thune and Noem for their hollow concern, Johnson reminds us that a government shutdown may not impact you at this second, but it does matter to people all over:

“While total losses are still being determined, this major blizzard has killed huge numbers of livestock across western South Dakota. Exacerbating these losses is the fact that the government shutdown has shuttered USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) offices across the state. As a result, producers don’t even have anyone to contact at USDA for assistance in documenting losses.

The closure of FSA offices is another demonstration of the real impact the government shutdown is having on South Dakotans. Like the snow storm, the government shutdown is causing major disruptions in people’s lives and every day business.

While snowstorms happen, government shutdowns are unnatural events. The House needs to pass a clean Continuing Resolution not just for the sake of South Dakota’s ranchers, but for the good of the country.”