Government Center, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

April 27, 2013 Martha Thomases 1 Comment

This has been something of a Bizarro week, at least as far as the news goes.  I would love to use the opportunity to make a bunch of mean-spirited jokes, but unfortunately (for real humans and for my cheap laughs). the situations are generally horrific.

To start, there is the Boston marathon bombers.  Fortunately, they were found and captured within the week, thanks to excellent police work (and some martial law).  In the process, a policeman was killed.

 

 

 

A fertilizer plant blew up in Texas.  Most of the casualties were first-responders, firefighters and others who ran towards the explosion to save lives and property.

And finally, and way less seriously, the FAA has had to furlough air traffic controllers because of the forced budget reductions required by the sequester.  As a result, there have been cascading flight delays all across the country.

What do these three events have in common, aside from the sheer quantity of human misery?  They all involve government employees.  And the Republicans in Congress are pissed about it.  After trying to slash the budget (except for the military) since at least 1980, all of a sudden they are upset.  It seems that government workers, rather than being lazy slackers who sit around on their asses all day, whiling away the time until they can collect a pension, actually do things that make our society run more smoothly.

I’ve been especially amused by the response to the air traffic controllers.  For one thing, no one died (yet), so my amusement isn’t entirely tasteless.  All that’s happened is that people have been stuck at the airport.

Air travel is not a constitutional right.  It is not the only way to get from point A to point B.  It is a choice available to the people who have the money to spend.  Personally, I’m pleased that the government hires air traffic controllers so that planes don’t crash into each other, and I don’t mind my tax dollars going to support that.

But some people do.  And, this week at least, they seem to have forgotten everything they said in last year’s campaign, and instead are complaining that their vision of a small government doesn’t revolve around their own comfort.

You know what, middle-class people stuck at the airport?  The same budget cuts are depriving kids of school lunches, retirees of senior centers, and lots of schools of teachers.  Buy a Kindle and suck it up.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, recently turned in all her miles for a first-class ticket, and may never travel any other way again.