The Shutdown Proves How Redundant Government Is

The D.C. media complex is not happy with the partial shutdown of the federal government. The government shutdown drags into the New Year, they tell us! It could go on for the rest of January, they cry! “Promise?” is the only thought that readily comes to my mind. It’s actually been quite peaceful with Congress gone and the bureaucracy on furlough.

But to be completely frank, while a complete shutdown of the federal government has some impish attraction both in reality and as a thought experiment, that’s not what’s happening.  Still, if the shutdown extended into say February or March or beyond, how quickly would state and local government pick up the slack? What about private enterprise and community-based organizations? They’re certainly capable of doing so, but it would take some effort.

Though one wonders who would listen in on our phone conversations if the surveillance state were suddenly made redundant? But Christmas was last week, so that’s probably too much to ask.

Yet for all of the breathless commentary from Beltway media, the reality is that the federal government can’t even shut itself down properly . . .

Read the rest at The Spectator USA.

Photo credit: Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

About Chris Buskirk

Chris is publisher and editor of American Greatness and the host of The Chris Buskirk Show. He was a Publius Fellow at the Claremont Institute and received a fellowship from the Earhart Foundation. Chris is a serial entrepreneur who has built and sold businesses in financial services and digital marketing. He is a frequent guest on NPR's "Morning Edition." His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Hill, and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter at @TheChrisBuskirk

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