It seems like this is the millionth time the U.S. has been so divided that our government cannot make a decision about anything.
We are heading into the second month of the government shutdown, in which the U.S. Senate cannot reach a budget agreement that doesn’t harm millions of Americans who rely on government assistance to feed their families and access to healthcare. Not to mention the over 5,000 federal workers in the state of New Hampshire alone, who are currently working without pay.
This government shutdown is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history, surpassing President Donald Trump’s previous shutdown record of 35 days. Does he want a gold star?
The Equinox is appalled by the U.S. Congress, as they still get their paychecks, while federal workers are going to food banks because they cannot afford groceries. Congress is displaying its inability to put the American people first. Some would say it is their job to make sure their constituents can feed themselves in the wealthiest country in the history of the world. This is while politicians decide what they believe deserves federal funding, up to 76,000 Granite Staters are struggling to put food on the table as they rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to a November 3 article published by the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript.
Trump and his minions get to enjoy a Great Gatsby-inspired party in Mar-a-lago while children go hungry and Americans go broke. Meanwhile, the Democratic and Republican Senators fight like cats and dogs, distracting us from the fall of democracy.
The partisan issue in this country has only created a great divide. Republicans and Democrats argue back and forth, with Republicans refusing to agree on a budget unless Obamacare subsidies are gone so Trump can propose his apparent plan to “fix it”– or so he says in a 60 Minutes interview with Norah O’Donnell. But if we’ve learned anything, it’s that President Trump doesn’t care at all about making healthcare more affordable; he only seeks to find more ways to rob the American people for his and his rich buddies’ own benefit.
The last time the government passed a complete budget was in 1996. If the U.S. government passed a complete budget that truly put the American people first, maybe we wouldn’t be stuck in this cycle of government shutdowns within the Trump Administration.
According to an article from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), “In a statement Tuesday, Gov. Kelly Ayotte said state agency heads have assured her that New Hampshire government operations should continue as normal as long as any federal shutdown lasts 30 days or less.”
“Our state is prepared in the event of a federal government shutdown and expects minimal impact on services for Granite Staters in the short-term. State agency heads have assured us that within the next 30 days, operations will continue as normal,” said Ayotte in her press release from Tuesday, September 30th.
As the shutdown lingers into the early days of November, we find the uncertainty about the near-future of federal government services continuing to be worrying.
Thankfully, those who are struggling with food can go to mobile food banks around the state, as well as local kitchens and pantries. Information on food accessibility locations can be found on the NHPR website.
It is time for the states, including N.H., to really step up and pull their weight when it comes to continuing and supplementing lapsed services in the meantime, as it appears unlikely that an end is in sight for this prolonged shutdown.
