Ross: The Great American Border Safety Shutdown
Jan 16, 2019, 7:36 AM
A supporter holds a sign in support during a news conference about border security on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Today is day number … whatever, of the Great American Border Safety Shutdown.
And I say that title with added reverb, because it needs a little something extra. It needs to be scarier. Because this is the first time that I can recall seeing a president invoke terrorism and have it not work. Which is why neither side is moving.
People just aren’t as scared about imported terrorism as he is.
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Instead, the focus is on the stories of federal workers – most of them regular middle class people – talking about missing mortgage payments and rent payments and having to use food pantries. The Minneapolis airport even set up a food pantry for TSA workers and air traffic controllers.
That is what’s scary.
Another scary thing is knowing that the government can just cut off your pay for weeks or months and it’s all legal. And yes, government employees will be paid eventually. But government contractors won’t.
And according to the White House’s own figures, the cost of all this is about a billion dollars a week. Which means that to get $5.7 billion to build a wall against foreigners, we’ve taken $3 billion from regular Americans and built nothing.
But don’t worry, I’m not going sit here quoting scary economic numbers. In fact, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Because the federal workers who compile the scary numbers? Guess where they are right now … how convenient!
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
