"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Saturday, January 05, 2019

We Are Beset By Idiots

Apparently, everyone in the Trump regime thinks the way he does -- which is to say, not much, if at all. It seems that no one thought about the consequences of an extended government shutdown:

Food stamps for 38 million low-income Americans would face severe reductions and more than $140 billion in tax refunds are at risk of being frozen or delayed if the government shutdown stretches into February, widespread disruptions that threaten to hurt the economy.

The Trump administration, which had not anticipated a long-term shutdown, recognized only this week the breadth of the potential impact, several senior administration officials said. The officials said they were focused now on understanding the scope of the consequences and determining whether there is anything they can do to intervene.

They really had no clue.

And please note that the single largest group, 39% of those who receive government assistance -- i.e., "welfare", including food stamps -- are rural whites: Trump's base, if we are the believe the pundits. (Granted, a chancy proposition.)

And it's going to affect the economy:

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RMS U.S., an accounting and consulting firm, said a prolonged shutdown would shave an entire percentage point off the U.S.’s economic growth, in part because of an “uncertainty tax” that would freeze spending by households and businesses.

“If one doesn’t know what’s going to happen with respect to their own income . . . there will be a pull back on the purchase of big-ticket items,” he said. “Large firms will pull back on outlays on software, equipment and capital.”

I've been a manager, and most of the people in responsible positions in government are managers. It becomes almost a reflex: if you propose a course of action, you think about the consequences. Those in charge of what we laughingly refer to as "this administration" obviously never think about consequences, just like their boss. The problem is only compounded when Glorious Leader gets a hair up his butt and catches everyone by surprise so that they can't even advise him -- which he doesn't listen to anyway.

Via the New Civil Rights Movement.

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