Unbreaking things
As our neighbours move into their “longest government shutdown”, I decided to look at what that actually means. I came up short. I understand the pain; go to work, do your job, forego your pay cheque because of a dispute that is without importance. And I realize that the redress available to those workers is limited.
A number of people that sit on the sidelines and “coach” suggest staying home from your job. In many places, that gets you fired. But what if you wanted to stop the wheels of society? A current suggestion points at the power of those involved in transportation, particularly air travel.
The idea that the pokers and prodders (terminal security) might not poke or prod is of little importance. If the air traffic controllers decided to not control, more stressful. Or is it? I looked at my own contact with aircraft. In the last quarter century, I haven’t flown commercially. Ergo, shutting down the airport wouldn’t affect me, or many that I know.
What about food safety? If “they” stop inspecting lettuce, would that differ from the recent scandal, (where the lettuce was making us ill). Fewer salads? That takes time to stop the conveyor.
Realistically, the US has an interesting problem. I saw a graph suggesting that another week of shutdown will cost society the same amount as if they had simply built a wall. Yes, I see that the wall doesn’t solve anything, but the problem is not there. Until the mechanism for controlling out of control politicians is figured out, their government will remain broken.
