As of January 21, the government of the United States has been shut down for a total of 31 days, marking a month without pay for several families and causing outcry among the majority of U.S. citizens. Regardless of whether or not individuals have been directly impacted, they have seen those who are currently suffering for an outrageous cause: increased border security. As of now, President Trump has been made an offer by the Democratic party which included $1 billion that would go toward border security. However, President Trump refused due to the fact that he feels that $5 billion would be more adequate for his agenda.
To any common bystander, there comes a point when the people within the country’s borders take precedence over those you would like to keep out. Throughout the nation, numerous individuals have been threatened by the government shutdown.
“Trump is now ordering, as in summoning, federal government workers to go back to work without getting paid,” rapper Cardi B said. “This [the government shutdown] is crazy, like our country is in a hellhole right now, all for a f—ing wall.”
According to an article from the Washington Post, there are 800,000 government workers across the 50 states who are currently not being paid, and their combined salaries together top $1.4 billion a week. These statistics can only begin to depict the harsh reality of the government shutdown.
One of the largest groups impacted by the chaos is the Coast Guard. According to Military.com, there are around 8,000 Americans employed as members of the Coast Guard— many of whom are their families’ only source of income. Many of their wives have taken to news networks in an effort to tackle the issue, some even coming forward in a PBS interview, the article recap of which is entitled “Build the wall, don’t build the wall. But pay our husbands.”
These men and women, along with countless other individuals employed by the government, are being put at an economic disadvantage due to the shutdown— all for the sake of a wall that may never be built.
Not only have government workers been impacted, but celebrities have begun to challenge the issue as they see the strain this shutdown has put on
“Trump is now ordering, as in summoning, federal government workers to go back to work without getting paid,” rapper Cardi B said. “This [the government shutdown] is crazy, like our country is in a hellhole right now, all for a f—ing wall.”
Cardi B went on to say that she felt the people need to take action and that she felt awful for those who still had to go to work without getting paid. Former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, who has served during five government shutdowns, went so far as to validate the rapper while guest speaking on “The Beat with Ari Melber.”
For this the American people suffer today. Those 800,000 people no longer receiving revenue for the work they do on a daily basis are currently forced to work like beasts of burden.
“She is right that I think most Americans sitting back right now saying this isn’t a problem over an issue, it’s a problem of the governance of the country,” Torricelli said.
But celebrity action doesn’t just stop there. There have been countless celebrities— such as John Legend, Bette Midler and Mark Ruffalo— who have spoken against the issue, according to Insider. These individuals, though not directly impacted by the shutdown, are appalled by this gross display of power. If the sole purpose of this government shutdown is to increase border security, then why should it impact the entirety of the United States of America?
This is a country founded by immigrants for immigrants. This was not land for the colonists to take and yet they took it from those who originally claimed it. “Americans” have encouraged immigration since then. It seems that, at this point in time, Trump no longer supports immigration due to his skewed ideological standpoint as he prioritizes the “white minority” over the ethnic majority. He wants to make our borders impenetrable for the sole purpose of keeping out people escaping from Mexico in order to, in all likelihood, make a better life for themselves.
Yet Trump assumes that a majority of these innocent people are criminals and felons who simply want to come to the country as free-riders, when most of them are willing to take up menial jobs simply to support themselves.
For this the American people suffer today. Those 800,000 people no longer receiving revenue for the work they do on a daily basis are currently forced to work like beasts of burden.
President Trump should be considering the options right now— his demands have been met to a certain extent and politics is about compromise. Will he let his people continue to be under duress and further mar his presidency, or will he attempt to rectify his wrongs and take his losses?
Photo courtesy of ABC News
