Shutdown not much of an issue

The whole business of the partial shutdown of the federal government is much ado about almost nothing.

Parts of the government have been shut down on many occasions, and while that has presented some problems for the furloughed workers, shutdowns generally have little effect on the operations of federal agencies, and the workers usually recover any money they may not have received on regular paydays.

There have been 17 shutdowns since 1976, and of those 17, almost none has caused so much as a hiccup in the long-term functioning of the federal government.

Most of the shutdowns haven’t lasted very long, either; one lasted no longer than a single day.

And yes, most federal workers who are laid off get retroactive pay, primarily because unions goad members of the House and Senate into voting for it.

Knowing this, you can be sure that when you see Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Schumer crying crocodile tears over the “impoverishment” of federal workers, they are lying like rugs because they know the truth to be pretty much the opposite of what they claim it is.

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The whole issue leading to the shutdown is whether the United States should build a beefed-up boundary barrier — aka fence or wall — between the U.S. and Mexico.

The Mexicans generally don’t want a barrier, because they want to be able to escape their country when they get the chance. You can’t blame the average Mexican, or Guatamalan, or Honduran for wanting to head north, where conditions are better.

The problem is, they don’t generally want to follow the rules set down by the U.S. for becoming citizens.

If you don’t believe that, observe the thousands lined up at the U.S.-Mexican border right now, insisting on unrestricted entry to this country. What makes them believe they have rights to this?

Hundreds of migrants and their children seeking to enter the U.S. from Mexico are arriving with illnesses, forcing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seek additional medical assistance and boost medical screenings, the agency disclosed Monday.

Between Dec. 22 and Sunday, the agency reported 451 cases referred to doctors or other providers, including 259 children. Among the children, half of the cases involved kids under the age of 5.

The Democrats seem to feel the illegal foreigners should be allowed in, because the Dems hope they can turn them into voters. The Republicans are a bit more practical — they see the illegals as people willing to work for less than others.

One thing is for sure, there aren’t enough schools, classrooms, teachers, hospitals and clinics, to accommodate the illegals and their children.

Perhaps the solution would be to build the barrier, then improve the process for getting those people into the country who want to become Americans and not just welfare recipients, and who are willing to learn what they need to learn and do what they need to do to make that happen.

Surely, Congress and the president can come up with something to make that happen.

If not, we should build a barrier to keep them out of Washington, D.C.