So What if D.C. Shuts Down?
I started working full-time and contributing to the Social Security Trust Fund in 1971. I stopped making Social Security payments in 2014. Over those 43 years I estimate that I paid around $175,000 into Social Security from whatever I earned.
I started collecting Social Security payments in 2011 when I was 67 years old, so between then and now the government has sent me 144 monthly checks. I figure they have sent me around $400,000 and change. In other words, when it comes to money in versus money out, I’m way ahead of the game.
I don’t use Medicare because my wife is still working and one of her bennies is a medical plan. I renewed my passport a few years ago and other than my yearly tax return, that’s it when it comes to anything between me and the feds.
I suspect I’m fairly typical for how much the average adult in this country has any connection to the federal government. When I was in financial services, we needed to follow certain rules and regulations laid down by the SEC, but our computers basically did that work for us. I also owned federally licensed gun shops in three states and was inspected by the ATF exactly once.
What would happen to me if the government shut down on Friday? Not a goddamn thing. My social security check would still be issued, and I could still use my passport as a form of ID. As for all those poor people standing in those long lines at the border, I have never understood why we make such a big deal about border security in the first place. As far as I’m concerned, if you want to live in America, come on in.
What’s really happening in D.C. right now is that the MAGA contingent in the House — they call themselves the ‘freedom’ caucus — is beginning to understand that Donald Trump is smelling like rotten fish and may not be around in 2024.
0 Comments