wishful thinking

[cellio]

My state's government has partially shut down over a budget spat. "Non-essential" employees have been given the temporary boot, but the legislators and governor at the center of the problem are still getting paid. Instead, they should keep the workers and stop paying the politicians until it's fixed. Fast Eddie and the more-numerous-than-necessary-anyway legislators should suffer the consequences of their brinksmanship, but, sadly, it never works out that way.

Comments

[brokengoose.livejournal.com]

For bonus points, try to find ANY examples of "non-essential workers" other than DMV (sometimes PennDOT) and state park employees.

It's become a personal game. Every time I hear or see something about the shutdown, I look for the list. They consistently mention DMV and parks; they occasionally mention PennDOT; and they usually follow up with a list of offices that will stay open even though most people would describe them as non-essential.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

This is the classic "Washington Monument Scam" (i.e. shut down government functions selected for their high profile and high inconvenience inflicted by the shutdown) in order to pressure the taxpayers to cough up more in order to pay for both the meat and the fat.

[cellio]

Yeah, nothing about governor's/representatives' staffs, minor bureaucrats, etc, just the stuff designed to get the public upset enough to pressure their reps to give Rendell what he wants. The man's not dumb.