Shutdown has proved one thing: Government is vital to us all
Shutdown has proved one thing: Government is vital to us all
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-government-is-vital-20131010,0,1130221.story
Follow the link to see the cartoon.
By David Horsey
October 11, 2013, 5:00 a.m.
Ranchers in western South Dakota are busy with the grim work of gathering the carcasses of more than 75,000 cattle killed in a freak wind and snowstorm last week. They could use some help, but none is coming from a shut down federal government.
The storm was devastating. First came heavy rains, then hurricane force winds, then snow that piled up as high as 5 feet in some places – all within a matter of hours. Some ranchers lost half their herds. Some were totally wiped out. Some will never recover. Many others should be able to shoulder the monumental work of rebuilding, but, to do that, they will need the aid of federal programs set up to assist ranchers and farmers who get hit hard by the destructive whims of nature.
Right now, USDA farm services offices are closed, so ranchers cannot begin the process of applying for relief from losses that, for the region as a whole, could climb as high as $1 billion. Even when the government is back in business, assistance will not come until Congress passes the farm bill that has been stuck in the House of Representatives.
The good news is that, once the shutdown ends and a farm bill is finally sent to the president, aid will come to the ranchers retroactively. For now, though, this infuriating situation provides a lesson that is being learned all around the country by people who rely on the federal government to function properly: Government is not the enemy.
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