I'm sure everyone has gotten word that our government is currently shut down. A government shutdown usually occurs if Congress is not able to pass particular bills or when a president does not sign certain bills into law. Americans that work federal and government jobs are the ones mainly affected by a shutdown if it happens to last for a long period of time, which it has. These workers are still required to go to work, since many of these professions are deemed as "critical", like TSA workers for example.
However, many are struggling financially now that the government has been shut down for almost 20 days; more than two weeks. And while federal workers are the ones directly affected, it is also causing a slow but dangerous domino effect on people who need government aid; but are not able to receive it at this time. On Tuesday, President Trump spoke during his presidential address about what he foresees happening about the current shutdown.
There was a rumor that President Trump would call our country into a national emergency if there was no agreement soon between him and the Democrats. However, he did not do so, at least not during the address. This could absolutely change if the "wall" does not get built soon. He said if it came to this he could pay for it using "the various mechanisms". What does this mean? We won't technically know unless it actually happens. What we do know is, Mexico will definitely not be paying for this wall. The fact is, taxpayer dollars will be used if this wall actually comes into fruition. But, he claims not to worry because in his speech he mentions that "this wall will pay for itself".
The President also continuously mentions how there is no bipartisan agreement, making it seem as if the decision needs to be made by the Democrats or else nothing will get done. But let's rewind about a week back to the very first day of the 116th Congress. On the first day, house democrats passed Senate-Republican legislation in order for the government to be re-opened and afterward; plan to fund for better solutions for border security. While some may agree that a wall will stop people from entering our country, that is simply not true; we have seen evidence of this.
President Trump's address presented many fear-mongering tactics. He made it appear as if every violent crime was the product of an illegal immigrant entering our country, which is also not true. I am not denying that some of these crimes are performed by illegal immigrants, but it's statistically not true that the majority of those crimes are done by them. Many violent or drug-related crimes are done right in our own backyards by the people from this country. However, he continues to try to direct our attention to the vision of his wall using controversial language not only used by him but from people a part of his administration.
The one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on is that we want our country to be safe, anyone can agree on this. But we are missing how to do this the most efficient way possible. All we can hope is that this government shutdown ends soon for the sake of the hardworking Americans being affected, not for the 30-foot wall.
