State shutdown the worst-case scenario
If Tennessee lawmakers don’t find some way to balance the budget and the state is forced to shut down, will we only be left with 49 states?
We’ve heard about this state government shutdown for months. Now that we’re on the eve of just such an event, what’s going to happen when this great shutdown actually does take place?
For starters, some 22,000 state workers could find themselves sitting at home Monday. If that was spread evenly throughout the state, that would be 231 workers per county.
But that’s all just part of trimming all the government waste Tennessee is so famous for – even though we rank dead last in the nation in the amount of taxes paid per citizen. Our lawmakers have danced around and mainly worked on their sidestep as they have dodged commitment and responsibility for the last six months. Now we have reached the last day of our fiscal year and only they are to blame for the state’s current predicament.
On the flip side of the coin, the sudden state layoffs will most likely drive down labor costs. With thousands of state employees except for state troopers, prison guards and others deemed “essential” for state operations facing the possibility of an unpaid vacation, there will be plenty of people hungry for work.
Our guess is the price of house painting is about ready to drop. Need someone to mow your yard? There might just be a few state workers around who will be willing to work for cheap.
Warren County citizens can forget about paying for a new jail. Motlow and the Technology Center aren’t far from our current jail, and the state doesn’t have the money to operate those facilities anyway.
Let’s forget about the fact a fair number of our high school seniors attend those schools after graduation. The state needs to tighten its belt so let’s just shut down state government and put a lock on Motlow’s front door. A few bars over the windows and, presto, we’ve got ourselves a ready-made jail.
One thing we shouldn’t have to worry about is paying our state lawmakers. And it’s unfortunate the concerned representatives we have here in Warren County get lumped in with all the dead weight on Capitol Hill, but such is the nature of the beast.
The simple fact is our elected officials have not gotten the job done. The state is on the verge of disaster. Thousands and thousands of state workers are waiting today to find out if they have a job tomorrow. This is government ineptitude at its finest.
Even if lawmakers pull a miraculous rabbit out of their hat today, this is one fiasco which could have – and should have – been avoided.
And unless our leaders look ahead and pass some sort of tax reform, not a patchwork alternative, this is a process we can all look forward to next year.