Energy > National Nuclear Security Administration (civilian)
Should we be concerned about that being shut down?
US Government Uptime Monitor
51–60 of 82 posts
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#52A far as I'm concerned, they're just intentionally failing to do their job. And they *all* in congress should be fired for job abandonment. And yes, rerun elections, with those idiots not allowed to run. After all, when I look at my W2 (yeah, I'm a working stiff), they sure as hell are taking out taxes still. That aint "shut down". It's a scam. Something about "taxation without representation". I think we went to war…
A failure like this would immediately trigger reelections in the UK. It's a strong incentive to not shut down the government. There is no serious incentive to avoid this in the US. In fact, you're incentivised to be complicit in the shutdown and then blame the other party.
One incentive that could work in the US without having to completely change how elections work would be for the government to actually shut down when it runs out of money. Shut downs are only remotely politically viable because nearly all the parts of the government that people regularly rely on more or less keep working.
This means the public backlash from shutting down the government is significantly muted, and it gives the opportunity for some less intelligent people to point to it as proof the government doesn't actually do anything. But it only works because the government basically forces employees in those roles to work for free with the promise of being eventually paid at some point, which is pretty weird when you really think about it.
Consider an alternate version of events where the government running out of money means all government functions immediately cease. No airport security, no air traffic control. Federal law enforcement goes home. The military stands down. Every federal government function stops October 1st since there was no longer any money to pay for it. Not only would the government not still be shut down, it never would have shut down since the impact would be so immediate and so significant that politicians would never risk it actually happening.
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#53A far as I'm concerned, they're just intentionally failing to do their job. And they *all* in congress should be fired for job abandonment. And yes, rerun elections, with those idiots not allowed to run. After all, when I look at my W2 (yeah, I'm a working stiff), they sure as hell are taking out taxes still. That aint "shut down". It's a scam. Something about "taxation without representation". I think we went to war…
> And they all in congress should be fired for job abandonment. And yes, rerun elections, with those idiots not allowed to run. I find these takes very tiresome. What kind of insight can you draw from this all or nothing thinking? It’s reductive and uninteresting. Not all elected representatives are refusing to work. Collective punishment creates an opportunity for bad actors to force an election and remove their col…
> Well yeah, of course they are. You still owe taxes. When the government reopens the taxes you pay will still be allocated.
I think you missed the point. If the government is doing less due to shutdown, taxes should be less.
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#54Yeah but like this isn't funny anymore guys
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Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And they all in congress should be fired for job abandonment. And yes, rerun elections, with those idiots not allowed to run. I find these takes very tiresome. What kind of insight can you draw from this all or nothing thinking? It’s reductive and uninteresting. Not all elected representatives are refusing to work. Collective punishment creates an opportunity for bad actors to force an election and remove their col…
> Well yeah, of course they are. You still owe taxes. When the government reopens the taxes you pay will still be allocated. I think you missed the point. If the government is doing less due to shutdown, taxes should be less.
I didn't miss the point. The point doesn't hold up to scrutiny. The system you propose would create a perverse incentive for obstructionists to shut government down permanently to never pay taxes.
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unless your theory is that the median voter is kind of an idiot who doesn't understand how the government works and goes based on vibes. Such a person would ignore any issue short of, say, their paychecks or SSA benefits not arriving on time. After that, who knows who they would support? Democrats have a lot less to lose than the GOP right now. The party is unpopular and locked out of power. There's only upside to sh…
> Unless your theory is that the median voter is kind of an idiot who doesn't understand how the government works and goes based on vibes. I think the median voter looks at what a politician says they are going to do, assumes they are going to do it, and votes based on that. Say what you will about the Trump administration, they are doing exactly what they were shouting from the rooftops that they would do. Grief peo…
> they are doing exactly what they were shouting from the rooftops that they would do.
You mean lower prices on day 1?
Unfortunately some of us still remember those outlandish promises which we knew will remain just promises.
Doesn’t matter how much you push his promises under the rug, but we will not forget - how big of a fraud and scammer the current sitting president is.
Did they also shout - 51st state, crypto scams, private funding deals etc etc?
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#57Needs to go back further - there were shutdowns 30 years ago
This did make me curious, when did the federal government start "running" on a budget and "shutting down" when it doesn't have enough money? All 250 years, or is this a more recent phenomenon?
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Unless your theory is that the median voter is kind of an idiot who doesn't understand how the government works and goes based on vibes. I think the median voter looks at what a politician says they are going to do, assumes they are going to do it, and votes based on that. Say what you will about the Trump administration, they are doing exactly what they were shouting from the rooftops that they would do. Grief peo…
> they are doing exactly what they were shouting from the rooftops that they would do. You mean lower prices on day 1? Unfortunately some of us still remember those outlandish promises which we knew will remain just promises. Doesn’t matter how much you push his promises under the rug, but we will not forget - how big of a fraud and scammer the current sitting president is. Did they also shout - 51st state, crypto sc…
Yes, they shouted that they would commit fraud and accept bribes. Apparently people are fine with that and voted for it.
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#59Needs to go back further - there were shutdowns 30 years ago
This did make me curious, when did the federal government start "running" on a budget and "shutting down" when it doesn't have enough money? All 250 years, or is this a more recent phenomenon?
The Federal government of 200 years ago had a lot less money and performed much fewer functions than the Fed gov of today even during the current shut down.
Re: US Government Uptime Monitor
#60Needs to go back further - there were shutdowns 30 years ago
This did make me curious, when did the federal government start "running" on a budget and "shutting down" when it doesn't have enough money? All 250 years, or is this a more recent phenomenon?
For those interested, funding gaps only really became a thing in the 1970's, during Ford's administration [0]. It wasn't until a new interpretation of the Anti-Deficiency Act of 1880 that they became known as "shutdowns" in 1980 [1]. So a relatively recent phenomenon.
Hilariously, prior to that law, the executive branch would overspend early in the year, forcing more spending from congress in order to meet their contracts [2].
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_shutdowns_in_the_Un...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antideficiency_Act#Provisions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coercive_deficiency