What do you do when the Government shuts down?

On Friday, October 11^th, I was flying into Oakland Airport to attend the inauguration of the first lay president of Saint Mary’s College (Saint Mary’s is one of five Lasallian colleges and universities in the United States). I had forgotten to take my belt off as I passed through Security (don’t you just hate that?) and was flagged aside for a “pat down.” I don’t remember how the conversation with the TSA Agent started, but the gist of the encounter centered on this exchange:

Security:          “We’re taking it on the chin for the government shutdown.”
RG:                     How so, aren’t you an ‘essential service’ of the Federal Government?Security:          “Yes, but that doesn’t mean they have to pay us.”

That brief exchange caused me to spend the hour flight back to Burbank pondering the significance of what that Federal employee had said.  Consequently, when I got home, I Googled “TSA” salaries and discovered that the young man I had been speaking to earned somewhere between $22,800 and $35,600. At that point - Day 11 of the Shutdown -- no one knew when - or if - the shutdown would end. That’s when it dawned on me that this 20-something Federal employee had a real problem.  If the shutdown lasted longer than one pay period, there was the real possibility that he couldn’t pay many - if not most - of the monthly bills waiting for him in tomorrow’s mailbox.  Then, I thought, well, maybe he’s married. Assuming that his wife earned a salary at the upper end of his pay scale, what if she added another $35,000 to the household income? Then, I asked myself, what if they had children?  Well, according to the California Department of Health Care Services, a family of four, earning a household income of $70,000 puts them at 300% of the Federal Poverty level. By way of comparison: if their household income was $58,000 (or 250% of the Federal Poverty level), their children would be eligible for Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid, the Federal Government’s poverty-level health insurance program).

His situation is one many of our families face on a regular basis.  Between the trailing effects of the Great Recession and the “Sequester,” more than a few of our two-income families have faced the awful question of sacrificing tuition for the monthly bills that won’t go away simply because household financial circumstances have changed.  This is why La Salle’s financial aid budget has practically doubled in the five years since the Great Recession has worked its way through the Nation’s economy.

I’m particularly sensitive to the plight of this particular TSA Agent because I think his predicament mirrors the challenges many two-income households face in this bizarre era of government paralysis, economic stagnation and punitive fiscal decisions masquerading themselves as public policy. Robert Packard, our CFO, can attest to the fact that a steady stream of middle-income families, stung by the effects of the Great Recession (and now by the Sequester and the Government Shutdown), have come to him seeking relief from the economic forces they can’t control - all for the simple purpose of keeping their children enrolled at La Salle. I am sad to note that their plight isn’t a function of a federal government that willed a shutdown into existence, ignoring the plight of the hapless TSA Agent I encountered on October 11^th; rather, their situation is a function of decades-long policies which have ignored the cumulative impact on Middle Class households who live pay check to pay check and don’t know how to respond to cataclysmic events which, through no fault of their own, threaten their homes, their families and their livelihoods.

For me, this is the great tragedy of the Sequester and the Government Shutdown: politicians so intent on proving they’re right ignore the very real effects their political strategy has on working households. Thankfully, La Salle is in a position to provide the additional financial aid necessary (so far) to support our middle income families who require both spouses to be employed in order to afford some portion of our tuition. But, I have to ask: what about that TSA Agent who barely makes ends meet - what hope does he have to ensure that his children will inherit a better life than the one he received? More importantly, in this - unnecessary - political imbroglio, is anyone asking these questions?  It doesn’t matter whether one agrees or disagrees with how our government spends our hard-earned tax dollars; I ask one simple question: should hard working people - like us - who, through no fault of their own, suffer because our politicians can’t - or won’t - compromise?

I’d like to think the answer is obvious.  I’m not sure my TSA Agent would agree.