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U.S. government shuts down as Trump and Congress fail to reach a funding deal (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
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The U.S. government officially shut down after Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement on how to extend federal funding.

Donald Trump’s Republican Party controls both chambers of Congress, but it needs Democratic support to pass a bill in the Senate, where 60 votes are required. And the two parties failed to craft a bipartisan bill, with the Senate rejecting both a GOP proposal and a Democratic proposal just hours before the shutdown deadline.

It’s the first government shutdown since 2018, in Trump’s first term, which was the longest ever at 34 days, lasting into early 2019. There is no clear path to a resolution, with the two sides fundamentally at odds over how to resolve the impasse.

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[–] 78 points 1 year ago (14 children)

Go for it, Dems are using one of the few effective levers they have at the moment. They want to blame us for not accepting a 'clean' CR that's fine.

The last several months have been a storm of bullshit and dictatorial decisions by a loony who give no shits about anyone but himself, if finding a way to bring him to heel is possible by shutting it all down then I'll help turn out the lights.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    They should also be calling for a general strike and more stringent demands. The Republicans have stolen democracy from the people, this is the only way to get it back without unimaginable bloodshed.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    A general strike is not something you can declare in a top-down manner like that.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    How else do you do it? Everyone just magically has the same idea at the same time and stays home?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Bottom up. You need everyone in a union, and those unions get together and call a general strike.

    This is, in fact, the only way to do it. Democrats will call off a general strike as soon as their own needs are met. When you have a coalition of unions, then everyone has a say in their union on ending it.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    As nice an idea as it is, coming from one who grew up in a union household, it requires a majority of people to be willing to sacrifice in order to support their peers, and I just don't see it in the modern mentality.

    You can't force a union in a shop without majority votes, and even then you have how many states with 'right to work' laws that render them largely ineffectual.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago*

    Yup. The infrastructure we need for this has been dismantled over the past 70 years.

    That does not mean we should leave it to Democrats or any other political party to call a general strike. That would pay a high cost for meger results.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That's not bottom up, that's just a different org structure. One that doesn't exist at this time

    You have to get people on board and coordinate... That's the only requirement. Having Democrats call for this would get some people on board, moving a general strike from impossible to slightly less impossible

    But more importantly, it would be taking a stand. The tiniest, most performant stand, but still a step up

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    If the union is any good at all, it's bottom up. Unions need to be controlled by their members in a directly democratic way.

    You're making the same mistake as MLers. The working class is too dumb to sieze the means of production themselves, so they need a political party to do it for them. A general strike called by Democrats is not one that would produce results that are worth the cost.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    And if the Democratic party was any good, they would be listening to the will of the people and the desire for a general strike would flow up from the people. The decision to do it would still be top down, because someone has to figure out the logistics

    There's no general strike coming and we're miles away from the slimmest possibility, but I'd like to hear leaders calling for one all the same

    By calling for something so anti-billionaire, they would be signaling whose side they're on, giving them more legitimacy

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Agreed especially since federal workers are now guaranteed backpay. Sucks to be a contractor but I hate the lowest bidder mentality of contracted services anyways. https://legalclarity.org/do-federal-employees-get-back-pay-after-a-shutdown/

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Who is Covered by Back Pay Provisions

    The legal guarantee for back pay extends to nearly all federal employees affected by a funding lapse, covering two categories of workers. The first group consists of “furloughed” employees, whose jobs are not considered immediately necessary for the protection of life and property. They are sent home without pay and are legally prohibited from performing any work-related duties, including checking email.

    The second group includes “excepted” employees who perform jobs deemed essential, such as air traffic control or law enforcement. These individuals are required to report to work without pay during a shutdown. GEFTA also allows these employees to use their paid leave during the shutdown period if approved.

    Who is Not Covered by Back Pay Provisions

    While the law protects federal employees, it does not extend to all individuals who work for the government. The primary group excluded from automatic back pay is independent contractors. These workers, who provide services ranging from janitorial support to specialized consulting, are not on the federal payroll.

    Good to know.

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