Fed shutdown means air traffic controllers must work without pay

If you’re going to point to a job demographic where you wouldn’t want to place undue stress on the profession – like, say, brain surgery – one other field might be…air traffic controller, which is still high stress at a busy airport even on the best of days.

Even though the government is shut down, not counting ICE agents with serious tats, AT controllers must still report to work because they’re classified as being “essential for public safety.”

The rub is, but they won’t get paid because no federal pay checks are being cut.

We need governance, a meeting of the minds, but all we get is a government shut down.

Meanwhile, electricity prices are going up twice the rate of inflation, vegetables are up nearly 40 percent over the past year, and grocery prices are at their highest in three years. So, for people living on a fixed income, even with a steady paycheck, today’s cost of living is just going up, up, and up.

Good news, I know. I feel happy too. Happy I don’t have to fly commercial any time soon, now that I know how much stress the air traffic controllers are under.

Golf, Political Rally

Meanwhile, the president had some great rounds of golf this weekend, thank you, before attending the U.S. Navy’s 250th celebration in Norfolk, Va., on Sunday.

He turned that into a “political rally” (his words, not mine) before calling “Democrats” this “little gnat that’s on our shoulder.”

Hammering down, Trump then said this about Democrats: “They want to give all of our money to illegal aliens that pour into the country.”

I know, this was supposed to be an address by the president of the United States to assembled sailors, but he had to sidestep into the area of politics, and at one point in his address, he admitted that he had turned it into a political rally (easy to Google).

With regard to the shutdown of the federal government, the only way it can end is for each side to give up a little more.

While Republicans hold a majority, most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. With 47 seats, Democrats have been able to block Republican-backed funding bills and force negotiations.

The Democrats say the Republicans don’t want to continue funding Obamacare, which is true, while the Republicans say that’s because “illegal immigrants” shouldn’t be getting free health care.

The fact that they’re currently not getting it and can’t sign on to Obamacare because they’re here illegally, seems to be beside the point. (Easy to Google.)

Last but not least, when the Republicans return to work (by Christmas?) and find a way to hammer out a deal with the Democrats, and federal funding is restored, AKA, borrowing more money to add to our annual $2 trillion debt, the air traffic controllers will get their back pay, but how are they supposed to get by until then?

If they’re sharing living expenses with someone who still has a paycheck, they’ll get by, or if they have savings to dip into, they’ll get by, but my question would be, how many live paycheck to paycheck like so many other Americans today?

How many air traffic controllers are going to go to work stressed, thanks to the shutdown?

Too many because none of them are getting paid.