A Good Woman

As the good woman that I am, I spent the day paying bills, balancing our accounts and working out our "what if" budget. In case there is anyone who has not heard my latest rant, here it goes....if they don't come to an agreement on the federal budget and the government shuts down, my husband will be working without pay. Yeah, you heard me right. He will continue to show up on time, work his day and maybe additional hours, but we won't be paid on time. The current budget goes through April 8th, so essentially we will get a check for half of the work period. After that, no one knows. We are assured that we will be paid later, so it isn't that we won't be paid, but just not on time. I am not 100% sure, but I doubt that most creditors will like the idea of getting paid "sometime" for what is due right now. My questions is this... will welfare recipients receive their checks on time? Will those who are on disability checks but aren't actually disabled (we all know these people) get their checks on time? Probably so! The assistant to the assistant of the executive assistant of the White House Public Relations Director will probably get their check, but my husband who has served his country for almost 14 years and is in a legal and binding contract with the United States and Department of Defense may not be paid on time. This is the kind of things I thought about as I listened to the constant rhetoric about the government shutdown while managing to pay my bills (paying those on time to avoid late fees), balancing my checkbook (down to the last penny) and budgeting what remained in order to make it to the next paycheck (if there is one). Now, maybe the government just needs ONE GOOD WOMAN! How is it that most Americans manage to live paycheck to paycheck, taking care of the necessary expenses and sometimes managing to put a little away, donate to a good cause or buy something nice, but an entire room full of people supposedly elected to represent the average American can't seem to do the same? Could it be that these people are overpaid for their job? Maybe so overpaid that they have lost touch with the real world? Once this budget crisis is over, we will head full steam into an election season. The television will be inundated with interviews, speeches, debates, commercials, etc. I hope that everyone remembers what is happening right now when they go to vote. Don't listen to just what candidates say, but pay attention to what they do. We are a country in crisis. We are broke and we are indebted to countries that we have avoided crawling into bed with for decades. Yes, most Americans are in debt and mortgaged out their asses, but how can we really expect any better? With the example of our leadership, how can we really expect anything different? If Suze Orman is helping people get out of debt, maybe Obama should call Suze for some advice for the government? At this point, the one thing I find to be certain, is that the men and women who put their lives on the line for this country should be given some sort of governmental preference. Instead, they are getting a crash course in juggling funds, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and how to put off creditors. None of these are lessons that I want to ever teach my children. It is time to take a stand and say enough is enough. We have to remember that this is our country and none of them could be in the positions they are in if we don't put them there.