Who says there is so much partisanship in Washington, D.C., that nothing can get done?
Okay, everybody says that. Which made it even more newsworthy when somebody used the word "compromise" on the front page of the paper the other day. These over-heated days, using that word in almost any context is a good way to get yourself primaried next time around.
Except . . . .
Not that we'll give either one credit for trying to do the right thing, but it's likely that neither major party wants a government shutdown on the political plate just now, with less than two months to go before the Big Election.
Funding the government used to be one of the most basic jobs of Congress. But these days, something as simple as keeping the lights on and the parks open can't be taken for granted. So the leaders of both parties take part in this dance, and for once try not to step on each other's feet:
"The speaker and I have agreed we don't want to see a government shutdown," said Steven Mnuchin on a Sunday news program.
Nancy Pelosi's people tell the papers that she supports a so-called "clean" continuing resolution, which means a funding bill without all the extraneous legislation attached to it.
This is good news. Notable for where it originates.
But they don't have all the time in the world. Without action, funding to many agencies would stop at midnight Sept. 30. The principals are trying to get a bill together that pushes that deadline past the election so Americans can focus on bigger things.
Unlike what certain talking heads on TV and talking voices on radio might say, shutting down the federal government is not a good thing, and doesn't save a dime. It's expensive. Only in government can turning off the lights cost money.
Back in 2013, under another administration, a shutdown cost Americans $2.5 billion. Politico explains why:
"Furloughed workers almost always get paid retroactively for the time they were out--which means taxpayers are laying out money without getting any work in return. Museums and national parks can't collect fees and revenues from other sources like gift shops.
"Perhaps most importantly, federal workers spend thousands of cumulative work hours preparing for the event and recovering from it, literally shutting down their systems and then restarting them once the government reopens--paid work that is utterly unnecessary to the normal business of running the country, and sucks time away from safety inspections, or reviewing research grants, or whatever their actual responsibilities are."
When Washington politicians play chicken with our nation's funding, there's no way the American people come out as winners.
Let's make a deal. Government already wastes too much of our money.