I awoke at 5:26am today to an email from a colleague. We were scheduled to meet for one of our regular breakfasts.
But not today. Due to the government shut-down, she had to be on the phone with her attorney, instead.
So I cancelled our breakfast reservations.
It’s probable that my colleague and I wouldn’t have done any business this morning at breakfast, strictly speaking. But the restaurant lost our $40 plus tip, which ripples into the paychecks of everyone who works there.
The photo, above, is from yesterday’s all-hands meeting at NASA Goddard Space Center, taken by Bill Hrybyk and posted to Flickr.
Monday, September 30, 2013 – NASA Goddard civil servant and contractor employees were invited to an all hands meeting with Center Director Chris Scolese and members of the senior management team to learn the latest information about a possible partial government shutdown that could happen as early as midnight.
Bill the people in the audience, conservatively, at $50 an hour. And then do the math.
To start to figure the secondary costs of the shutdown, begin to imagine the many other similar meetings. And add the cost of the many other cancelled reservations. And so on.
After contemplating these and other secondary costs to the government shut down, if you’re still with me, consider calling your elected representatives.
Even if you think they’re on the right side of this mess, we the people need them to get their colleagues in line with everyone’s best interest.
Contact your Representative.
Contact your Senator.
A phone call takes about a minute. And I’m guessing that it will be registered more quickly than an email would, too. You might want to mention how the shutdown is affecting your business.
We, the people, have shut down our government. If we’re not happy about it, we’d better let ourselves know.
Photo: Shutdown – All Hands, by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, via Flickr, under Creative Commons license. NASA does not endorse me, my products, my services, or my beliefs.
Anne Libby 