'GOD BLESS US, EVERY ONE'

The human and financial costs of a big freeze on federal spending are immense.

With a government shutdown looming, “President Musk” took to X to “threaten Republican members of Congress” to vote against a bipartisan resolution that would have funded the government through March and staved off a looming government shutdown.

“What they continue to show before anyone puts their hand on that Bible on Inauguration Day is that they do not care how this country functions, who they harm,” said Moodie. “It’s just one big joke to them.”

“Of course, Elon Musk, the probably richest man in the world, will be fine. If the government shuts down for 33 days, it’d probably be good for him because he is basically doing all of this because he wants to pay even less tax than he does, and he wants to have even fewer regulations on his companies than we have,” Levy added. “So shutting the government down to him is a win, and that is literally all he cares about.”

Only the worst kind of Scrooge lays off employees just days before Christmas.

Few would argue with that, but the people running our country seem to think it might be a good idea.

Many Americans will be reading about the looming government shutdown and thinking it won’t make much difference to them during the holiday season.

That may be true for billionaires. Donald Trump won’t be worrying about the rent and Mar-a-Lago will undoubtedly be flush with champagne and Diet Coke. Elon Musk will probably work right on through anyway.

And as Capitol Hill empties for Christmas, the reps and senators will be certain there’s plenty of food on the table at home. They don’t even need to be concerned too much about their jobs as they all have at least two years until the next election. It’ll all be forgotten by then.

But make no mistake, for most of us, it’s a big deal if an eleventh-hour deal cannot be found.

Right in the firing line are hundreds of thousands of government workers who face being furloughed. Starting from Monday. And those who do go in to work like postal workers, active-duty members of the military, TSA staff, federal prosecutors, disaster response analysts, and other “essential services workers” will not get paid, at least until it’s all over.

So, the credit cards will take a hit and nobody’s adding interest to delayed wages.

We should remember that these active military service members - who would not be getting paid - include 2,000 U.S. soldiers putting their lives on the line every single day fighting the Islamic State. So much for taking care of our troops!

For those who are already worried about surviving financially through the holidays, it is likely to get worse. They may lose access to food stamps and other federally funded nutrition programs. We are not talking fancy holiday meals with wine and appetizers; this is food to live.

If you were planning a trip to a National Park, you can forget it. They will likely be closed. Museums will shut and so will zoos.

Do you want to feel safe this holiday? Well, a shutdown isn’t going to help.

A Homeland Security fact sheet on the impact of a government shutdown suggests that 72 percent of the Department of Homeland Security workforce—about 185,000 people—would be required to work without pay.

They would include 19,000 border patrol agents, food for thought for a president determined to finish his much-touted wall along the southern border with Mexico.

Cyber security would be “degraded” with assessment work protecting government departments from hackers and ransomware suspended.

Sure, they’ll get paid eventually, but this is not great for morale and it’s certainly not great at a time when the kids want gifts and happy, relaxed parents are trying to take a few days away from their worries.

The U.S. Coastguard’s 40,000 dedicated personnel won’t even get back pay without a special appropriation being passed—and they cannot file for unemployment benefits to get by until then.

Planning a trip to see relatives? It could be a tough trip. “If the government shuts down, air traffic controllers and TSA Officers would be required to work without pay—potentially leading to significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country, based on what occurred during previous shutdowns,” says the DHA fact sheet.

The good news is that Social Security benefits, Medicare, veteran’s benefits, and temporary assistance for needy families would all continue uninterrupted. I guess we can be thankful for that.

There’s one additional positive—the IRS would have to put a freeze on audits on taxpayer returns.

But the cost will be enormous—and this affects every one of us. The last partial government shutdown during Trump’s first term in 2019 lasted five weeks, and cost the country $8 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That’s an awful lot of food stamps.

While the president and the politicians (plus Elon Musk) are playing politics, the holidays, a time when we are supposed to be uplifted and watch out for one another, will be one of hardship and worry for many.

“Shutting down” the government (which doesn’t actually shut down critical functions by the way) is infinitely better than passing a horrible bill.”

Musk posted this as part of his 150-message “tweet storm” that helped derail the bipartisan deal that would have funded the government and allowed everybody to sleep a little easier over the next few weeks.

Trump wants the debt ceiling limiting government spending lifted or disposed of altogether so he can achieve his second-term goals and thinks brinksmanship bartering with people’s livelihoods is a good idea.

The Democrats and the Republicans are busy blaming each other before heading home to their families. The likes of Newt Gingrich and Marjorie Taylor Greene say they’re “all in” for a shutdown to prove their point.

House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries blames the Republicans for torpedoing the bipartisan agreement to “hurt” working-class Americans. He wants them to stick to a deal that’s now in the dumpster.

And what about the rest of us, especially the ones keeping the country safe and making sure it doesn’t all fall apart?

We’re collateral damage.