Whoops, not this week. You guessed it: during the shutdown, you won't be allowed to go into some federally controlled waters to fish. Not, of course, because there's no funding; there's plenty of funding to pay guys to keep you out, even if takes more personnel than letting you in. Just in hopes that shutting you out will irritate you enough to call your congressman.
What's next: no breathing, because the EPA has jurisdiction over the air?
Frankly, the whole business underscores what a bad idea it is to get used to freebies from the feds. Anytime they're in a bad mood, they can restrict access to make a point. We should be working on making them as unessential as possible.
5 comments:
Can I get an "Amen," Brothers and Sisters?
Eric Hines
Well said, Maam!
Agreed. But it is the small irritations of government that get the big play, while the really expensive ones get only cosmetic touches.
If we were fully rational, we would shrug off all the petty intrusions if we could only rein in the entitlements
True. But reining in the entitlements means, in part, getting control of the government. That would be easier to do if so many Americans weren't vulnerable to government retaliation. That threat makes voters go wobbly the same way it makes politicians go wobbly. The House ought to be able to use the power of the purse to bring government to heel without worrying that its constituents will be used as pawns in a power play.
In any case, entitlements are the ultimate form of government freebie that makes voters too vulnerable to the whims of their rulers. Federal goodies are creeping in everywhere and giving federal bureaucrats leverage in many areas of life in which the government should have virtually no role absent demonstrable criminal activity, e.g., private food banks, education, and parks. Look at all the people dependent on Medicare and Social Security who could have been saving up (or insuring) for their own retirement and healthcare needs. The flip side of letting your vote be bought is opening up yourself for retaliation when you don't vote the right way.
It's like living in a company town: great as long as you toe the line.
“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.” --Thomas Jefferson
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