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Health & Fitness

Government Shutdown -- just like Groundhog Day!

Ever see the movie Groundhog Day? It's a comic movie about how the main character keeps waking up to the same day starting over, ... and over, and over. No matter what he does, it repeats itself. I feel the same way about our current government. We continue to go through the threat, the (non) negotiation, the (non) compromise and the very expensive foolishness of goverrnment shutdown. Again and again. How again, you ask? Because their solution this time is to postpone the real answer (negotiate a budget and fix the debt ceiling/spending) for two months. During that time our elected officials will somehow magically decide to discuss, compromise, and settle on a more permanent solution. Right. And how will this happen when the political positions have not changed, the power positions have not changed, and the two political parties continue to be controlled by a small number of people whose choices are based on the powers behind them. That is, the money brokers and idealogs. I am sick of this, but have absolutely no confidence in their ability to avoid another shutdown in January. Then March, May, etc.? And we have no way to influence our representatives to cut this crap out! What is it they're saying about our late lamented shutdown, ... $13 or so billion dollars cost to the economy? What about the cost to the individual American? The laid off non-governmental workers (they get NO retro payment for the time) the families with tours that had to be cancelled, the shopkeepers who lost business, and in some cases their whole business; the Headstart jkids who hads no place to go, and the list goes on and on. Government workers all get their back pay for the period. We don't. Our representatives never lost any pay, or benefits, or perks, incurred no added cost to their "business". The Chairman of the House says they played a good game but lost. A GOOD GAME! Watch them play it again in January.

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