There is an old canard that remains popular in conservative circles. It alleges that federal workers are layabouts who avoid useful work. If that were true and not a tired right wing slander, it might apply best to the government workers we know as our congressmen and senators.
The government is currently shut down with mounting negative consequences, not least of which is the possibility of flights being canceled because of unpaid air traffic controllers abandoning their duties. Despite this, the House of Representatives has not been in session since Sept. 18 while the Senate cannot concoct a compromise that will get the government functioning again.
Democrats in Congress have given up on being the adults in the room who always did whatever needed to be done to avoid a prolonged shutdown. This time around, they are refusing to give Republicans the votes they need to get a funding bill through until federal health care subsidies are restored.
Republicans, meanwhile, locked in their rigid ideology and obeisance to Donald Trump, have forgotten the first rule of politics: if you do not have the votes to pass a bill, you need to compromise to get them.
All of this raises a question: With the government on hold and federal workers going unpaid, have these shirkers in Congress given themselves an exemption so they still get their checks on time?
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