Another year, another “crisis.” Congress, after months of noise, delay, and finger-pointing, has once again punted its most basic responsibility: passing a federal budget. Instead of doing the work on time, lawmakers rushed through yet another last-minute continuing resolution, a stopgap to keep the government’s lights on.
We’ve seen this movie before. And we know the ending.
The Excuse That Never Gets Old
Lawmakers always claim they “ran out of time.” But the budget process isn’t a surprise. The deadlines are carved in stone. Congress has twelve whole months to hold hearings, negotiate line items, and present a plan.
So why do they wait until the eleventh hour, forcing themselves, and the nation, into a manufactured crisis? Because chaos is convenient. It allows them to rush through legislation that no one has time to read.
The 1,000-Page Scam
These bills are monsters: 1,000+ pages, dumped on desks hours before a vote. No elected official can seriously review that much text overnight, which is precisely the point.
Buried in those pages are the favors, earmarks, and backroom deals that benefit special interests, unions, and well-connected lobbyists. Billions of taxpayer dollars are steered toward projects the public will never hear about, but insiders will cash in on for years.
This isn’t sloppy governance. It’s a strategy.
Bipartisan Dysfunction, Bipartisan Benefit
Don’t be fooled by the partisan bickering. Democrats blame Republicans, Republicans blame Democrats. But behind the cameras, both parties benefit. Both use the deadline panic to push pork, to shield deals from scrutiny, and to keep the gravy train running.
The last-minute continuing resolution is not evidence of gridlock. It’s proof of collusion, a bipartisan con played on the American people.
Who Pays the Price?
The answer is simple: ordinary taxpayers who bear the overwhelming burden of taxation.
During a shutdown:
- Social Security payments continue during a shutdown because Social Security is considered a mandatory program funded outside of the annual appropriations process.
- Medicare & Medicaid programs are also mandatory spending and continue operating during a shutdown.
- Historically, approximately 60–65% of the federal workforce is considered “essential” and continues to work during a shutdown.
- The remaining 35–40% are furloughed, sent home to vacation without pay until funding is restored, and they receive retroactive pay.
- Essential employees include those involved in national security, law enforcement, air traffic control, health and safety, active military, federal prisons, and emergency services.
- Non-essential generally covers areas such as regulatory agencies, research, grant administration, permit processing, and many public-facing services.
Meanwhile, the real business, handing out favors to the powerful, sails through unnoticed.
Every stopgap deal kicks the can further down the road, ensuring the same “crisis” will happen again. Washington dysfunction has become Washington tradition.
Bottom Line: Enough is Enough
The truth is that the government never sleeps or shuts down.
Passing budgets on time, with open debate and absolute transparency, should be the bare minimum. Instead, we get unreadable thousand-page monstrosities, crafted in secrecy, laced with pork, and passed in panic.
Americans deserve lawmakers who do their jobs in daylight, not midnight deal-makers who hide behind fake deadlines. Until voters demand accountability from both parties, Congress will keep kicking the can and laughing all the way to the lobbyist’s bank.
We are so screwed.
— Steve
