|
|
The
views expressed
on this page are soley those of the author and do not
necessarily
represent the views of County News Online
|
 |
Federal News Radio
S&M on
Capitol Hill
Tuesday - 3/3/2015
By Mike Causey
Joke: What did the sadist do to the masochist? Punch Line: Nothing! Get
it?
See, the sadist likes inflicting pain will the masochist likes
receiving it, so if nothing happens everybody loses. Like right now. In
Congress. Currently, and not for the first time, Republicans and
Democrats in Congress — between vacations and breaks — are doing what
they do best. Spending a lot of time getting nothing done. Trying to
inflict pain, and blame, on the other side.
Last year, it was a series of furloughs, which cost impacted workers 20
percent of their weekly salary. That resulted in a massive number of
appeals that the government had to hear and process. It cost a lot of
time and money and in the end nothing happened, which is often the way
government works.
The furloughs were followed by a governmentwide shutdown in which many
feds were locked out of their offices — with pay — while others were
forced to come into work. Since everybody paid, the shutdown was
costlier than when everybody is working.
The furloughs were triggered by the sequestration process. Some
agencies had them, others didn't. Republicans accused Democrats of
causing it. Democrats said it was the GOP-led House that was to blame.
In past shutdowns, Republicans more often than not have lost the PR
battle with much of the public and most of the media. Whether that is
right or wrong, it's a fact.
This year, sequestration seems to have all but disappeared. Now the
political battle is whether, when, and if, to fund the Department of
Homeland Security while repealing a presidential executive order on
immigration...
Read the rest of the article at Federal News Radio
|
|
|
|
