1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

How nice that you have a paycheck How nice that you have a paycheck, despite the government being shut down for more than 33 days. The House has been purposely held out of session for petty political reasons. A prime reason is that if it was called to order, the Speaker would have to seat the elected representative of Arizona who would cast the deciding vote to release the Epstein files, and thus cause embarrassment, and perhaps consequence, to the President. How nice that you have a paycheck, despite thousands of government employees on furlough. Air traffic controllers are going unpaid, resulting in collapse of morale and thus negatively affecting the safety of our air transport system. How nice that you have a paycheck, enabling you to put food on your family’s table, while 42 million Americans, including 16 million children, lose SNAP benefits and go hungry. In my 72 years, I have never seen a government so heartless, so cruel, so selfish. I place 100% of the blame on the Republican Party. This stalemate is caused by the Republican Party’s obsession to remove heath care and social benefits from those who need it most, those unable to provide for themselves. You hold the reins; this tragedy, this embarrassment is occurring on your watch. Surely improvements in these programs can be made, and can be done without abandoning the Christian values that the party claims to hold dear. But actions are louder than words. So sit at home and enjoy your paycheck, while you pat yourself on the back thinking you are “doing the right thing”. But think about all those families who are being stressed financially, nutritionally, and emotionally. They do not have the luxury of drawing a paycheck while not doing their work. I used to be proud of my country. But with the direction you and your leadership have taken, and the damage you have inflicted, I am now ashamed.