Take a break from Trump and hear from regular Americans about the real state of our Union. Watch Angela Kabana, the wife of a federal employee, talk about not knowing when her family’s next paycheck would come, thanks to Trump’s shutdown:
“It’s pretty scary not knowing when you are going to be paid.” –Wife of a federal worker
With the U.S. federal government shutdown now the longest in history, it’s important to understand what a shutdown means for the health and safety of Americans.
The good news is that in the short run, the consequences are relatively few. But, as a researcher who studies natural disaster planning, I believe that Americans should be worried about the federal government’s long-term ability to ensure good public health and protect the public from disasters.
As the shutdown draws on, it increasingly weakens the government’s ability to protect Americans down the road, long after federal workers are allowed to go back to work. Many of these effects are largely invisible and may feel intangible because they don’t currently affect specific individuals.
View the complete January 15 article by Morten Wendelbo on The Conversation website here.
