If you're going to shut down the government do it right.
Ever since the so-called "government shutdown," I've noticed absolutely no change in my life. Despite alleged lack of government services, far too much money continues to be taken out of my paycheck, traffic cops still swarm the streets of D.C. (which I visited this weekend; spoilers: it's not a riotous hellhole), and politicians continue to get paid for not working. If I didn't occasionally see ominous headlines from CNN (despite my best efforts), I'm not sure I'd know anything was wrong.
Of course, one might argue that this is because I don't work for the National Park Service. One would be right. However, the fact that "government shutdown" only applies to a select group of people is indicative of the problem; while those initiating the shutdown continue to get paid, those who didn't have a lot of say in the matter don't. Recently, President Obama stated that Americans weren't pawns in some kind of political game. Aren't they?
The government "shutdown" is, in actuality, government action, and a typical one at that. Shut down welfare and people would be burning down 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (hi, NSA!) as I type these words. Shut down the police, or, worse, the payroll system for our so-called "representatives," and those who initiated the shutdown in the first place might actually suffer. What's an old white guy who likes generous kickbacks to do?
The answer is simple, and insidiously so: hurt the people - but not so much, of course, that they agitate to a point which might threaten the existing power structure. Maybe just enough so that they'll give in to whatever you want them to. The government shutdown is a pressure game, and it's not aimed at one interchangeable political party towards that party's opponents. It's aimed at you.
Politicians aren't working right now because they don't have to. The Republicans only have to not negotiate with Obama, who only has to not negotiate with the Republicans. Pressure from each respective constituency will eventually, each side hopes, build up enough for one side to cave. Meanwhile, each side sits back and collects a paycheck - taken from the tax collectors, who, curiously enough, are still working in some capacity.
There's a certain justice in this in that those who voted for those in power are getting to see the consequences of affirming the legitimacy of the state. However, for those like myself, who support no particular party, the shutdown comes as no surprise; it is the natural result of a fundamentally broken political system whose current defining characteristic is action by inaction. How to end the deadlock? Simple. Shut down the government.
I'm not talking about just shutting down the national parks. I'm talking about everything. Stop collecting taxes. Stop paying the politicians. Stop sending out the welfare checks. No military? No police? I wonder how safe Obama and his Republican colleagues would feel then. Actually shut down the government, ascend into anarchy, and watch how fast the two sides decide to negotiate.
That won't happen, of course, and that's probably a good thing, because this country isn't exactly prepared to stop being babysat by their Big Brother (yet). My point is that the government isn't shutting itself down. If anything, it's attempting to demonstrate its power through an alleged lack of efficacy. It will probably work, because, while it is exceedingly dangerous to take away a man's food, it's pretty safe to just make him slightly uncomfortable, which is exactly what the government is doing.
Obama was right, of course, when he said that Americans aren't pawns in a political game. He didn't know it, but he was. The reason the government will never (willingly) shut down, is because, unlike pawns, an irate citizenry can quickly become a major problem for those in power. The way the shutdown has been carried out is, in actuality, an excellent glimpse into how the state operates, and Americans should take note. Perhaps the best answer to the shutdown, since we can't actually do what I've described above is to instead just go with it.
The answer to this problem isn't storming the White House. It calls for something far more unorthodox: ignoring the politicians and their silly power games. Keep doing what you were doing as if nothing was happening. If Obama says we aren't pawns, prove him right. A state which can mildly agitate its citizens stays comfortable. A state which heavily agitates its citizens is in trouble. A state whose citizens no longer regard it, and instead display an abject and total disregard for it and apathy towards its posturing is finished. If we put such pressure on the government that it resumes normal operation, it knows we still care about it and need its guidance. If we get along just fine without it, people may start to understand that maybe certain parts of it aren't actually necessary, and that, for a government which depends on public support, is an experiment it will never want to repeat.
