The U.S. government is still in a partial shutdown, with most workers either working without pay or sitting at home as political pawns between the president and members of Congress.
One of the biggest areas struck by this partial shutdown is air travel, as TSA and FAA employees are working normal schedules without pay. It's a nightmare for the employees and shows you just how chaotic it can be for travelers when you run out of grease for the wheels of society.
To highlight just how bad it has gotten in the month since the shutdown began, people from TV networks and just everyday life started posting the tales on social media.
Now trusting what you read on there is like taking a pill someone just hands you on the street, it's risky and people aren't always up and up with their intentions.
But the TSA is in some trouble and I know first hand that ATC workers are not the happiest bunch in the world when they are getting paid.
Usually, the electronics in your bag are on the same level as highly flammable liquids and actual firearms. If you don't take them out of your bag, the day is over for you and Gladys is putting on her rubber gloves.
Some people are sharing the nice things they are doing for the folks working without pay, like offering a tip to TSA workers or just giving them a hug.
I'd make them soup, but I don't think they'd let me take it through the first security check.
I can't imagine asking a TSA employee who is without a paycheck thanks to the shutdown if they want to be called a volunteer.
If this was volunteer work, I don't think we'd have security at airports right now.
Some TSA workers are calling in sick or calling out because they can't spend time working without being paid for it, which is understandable. It's a thankless job that doesn't seem to end, so doing it without pay would be a crack in the camel's back.
Some folks are working and OK, like this person with a Navy pension. But others are showing just how tough it can be, having to decide if they can afford the gas to come into work for free.
TSA has it rough, no doubt. But ATC workers are out there taking care of life-saving business with pilots AND they can't walk off the job thanks to union rules laid out during the Reagan years.
They can't strike, have to work, so they're kinda wondering what's next. But they're also still doing their jobs.
Considering the reasons why we have heightened security at airports today, not paying the TSA seems like a bad idea. Meanwhile, there is this discussion about the trouble "pouring" across the border and how a wall with stop it.
It all seems very silly.
At the end of the day, this shutdown belongs to the president -- he's said it himself. For as much trouble as Congress is causing butting heads with his agenda, the blame is his and he said he would take it "for border security."
The response from those being affected seems clear.
