Nonessential Personnel
by Mark Cavers In the case of a government “shutdown” the government doesn’t actually shut down. Rather, essential services remain up and running: Military personnel in Iraq don’t suddenly fly home, TSA agents don’t stay in bed, and the IRS doesn’t stop collecting taxes (although, in a particularly cruel bit of irony, they stop sending...
by Mark Cavers
In the case of a government “shutdown” the government doesn’t actually shut down. Rather, essential services remain up and running: Military personnel in Iraq don’t suddenly fly home, TSA agents don’t stay in bed, and the IRS doesn’t stop collecting taxes (although, in a particularly cruel bit of irony, they stop sending rebate checks). One interesting aspect is if the government shuts down we will see approximately 800,000 “nonessential” federal workers forced to take furlough days.
According to The Hill, the Senate will furlough hundreds of workers:
All but one Senate gallery will be closed, as well as all but one Senate appointment desk. There will be no elevator operators, the barber and beauty shops will be shuttered, and the Senate’s employee assistance program will be closed except in the case of emergency.
The Hill goes on outlining the services that will be shutdown or see reduced services: the Senate parking lot, dining services, the Members-only gym, and the Capitol Visitors Center to name a few. All told the Senate Sergeant at Arms will reduce his office from 970 workers to 240.
Roll Call reports that some 1,750 non essential workers at the Capitol would be sent home:
Roughly 750 SAA employees and more than 1,000 workers from the Office of the Architect of the Capitol would be sent home.
Senators will have to work under the strain of only having one television studio open for press conferences instead of the multiple ones we pay for now!
The looming threat of a government shut down provides the opportunity to discuss big pictures items like top line spending, entitlements, and debt. But it should also spark a debate about why taxpayers are paying for private gyms, barbers, parking attendants, and elevator operators.
Think it is a problem exclusive to Washington? Here are a few examples of the jobs your Illinois taxes are paying for.