Government Shutdown, 2013 - Day 7

The pettiness of tyrants:

• “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
• “It takes more manpower and costs the government more money to close down an outdoor wall than to let people walk past it and pay their respects.”
• Police prevent drivers from pulling over and viewing Mt. Rushmore...
• Amber Alert vs. ‘Let’s Move’: Two screenshots say it all about the vindictive Obama admin [pics]
• “Just 17 percent of the government is shut down, and Friday the Obama administration allowed union representatives to return to work. So, union members could return to work, but the website to alert Americans to missing children had to be taken down?”
• National Park Service officials cited the government shutdown as the reason for ordering an elderly Nevada couple out of their home, which sits on federal land. Similarly, the NPS forced privately-operated inns on the Blue Ridge Parkway to close during the shut down.
• John Ondrasik (of Five For Fighting) shoved out of Jefferson memorial
• On the other hand, congress and Obama plan to give those furloughed government workers back pay, so they are all just on a free vacation!

I could go along with the back pay if a) it doesn't last too long (i.e. not months) and b) for 80% of the furloughed workers, this was severance pay.

We were told sequester would be a disaster and it was not. We were told the government shutdown would be a disaster and so far other than the President being spiteful about it, it is not too bad. We clearly do not as a country NEED all of these government workers. As part of any funding bill, all departments should undergo a 10% budget cut, year over year until the budget is balanced. I suspect since Harry Reid has not even submitted a budget in over 5 years, we should be able to trim the budget by a good 40% to 50%. Now THAT would be progress.