I am a federal employee with well over a decade of law enforcement service. My agency was shut down on Dec. 22. However, as a public safety agency, all of our frontline employees are “excepted” and thus working without pay, myself included.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, as a federal employee, this shutdown has affected me personally by the chaos and uncertainty it has introduced into my life. Despite the pervasive myth federal employees are overpaid and underworked, I have found most of us are solidly middle class, with a passion for public service. Already I’m feeling the pinch, and like many others, I’m facing tough decisions on the near horizon: What bills can I avoid paying, for how long, and even though I know I will be paid later, how am I supposed to survive in the now?
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This cuts to the heart of the matter: the uncertainty. I entered into a career in public service, and especially law enforcement, knowing I would never get rich and there would be a number of sacrifices I would be called on to make, perhaps even of my life. In exchange, I could at least enjoy a measure of financial stability and security, and I would have the satisfaction of knowing my work was meaningful and important to my country. The latter remains true: Every day, I walk past the west face of the U.S. Capitol, and I am awed by this reminder that I have the privilege of serving the people and the capital of the free world.
But for how much longer? Few Americans, I would comfortably wager, can go “months or even years” without a paycheck in modern society. With my education and experience, not to mention all the excellent training the taxpayers have provided me, I’m certain I could find another position, either in the private sector or with another government entirely. But is that what’s best for the people of these United States? To entrust their precious tax dollars to a federal government which no longer attracts high-caliber employees? That is no longer an employer of choice? When the federal government ceases to be an attractive option for young, idealistic, service-minded career seekers, the human cost will be immeasurable, and that is what we will experience if this sort of governance by chaos continues.
I’m a registered Independent. I tend to vote Republican nationally, but I have crossed the aisle at times locally, and I hope Nikki Haley mounts a Republican primary challenge in 2020.
Neither side of the aisle is without sin in this. Two things can be true at the same time: We do need border security (looking at you, Democrats), and this isn’t the way to get it (right back at you, Republicans).
In some places, the border probably does need a physical barrier; in other places, Mother Nature does the job for us. We also need comprehensive immigration reform to ensure a realistic and timely path to citizenship with properly allocated immigration courts that serve our national interests, ensure local public safety, and promote dignity and due process for immigrants wishing to join our communities.
These objectives are not mutually exclusive, but we cannot reach them through political theatrics from either party or by once again moving the proverbial goalposts. Certainly, none of us benefit from shutting down the government in a showdown over the issue.
What we don’t need is a House majority that opposes the president for the sake of opposing him, just because they find him personally odious. Neither do we need a president who governs by ego, with inconsistent policy positions and an administration in a constant state of chaos and upheaval. We need the Republican leadership (wagging my finger at you, Sen. Mitch McConnell) to appeal to the president’s better angels. Take the funding deal the new House majority passed — it’s a good starting point for negotiations.
Re-open the government, then let’s finally have a full-throated debate about border security and immigration, fueled by policy experts on both sides, not partisans and activists.
In the meantime, for my family and my country, I keep working and worrying and following the news — hoping the adults in the room start to act like it.
Chuck Lochart is a career law enforcement officer employed by the U.S. government in Washington, D.C.; his opinions do not represent those of any government agency.
