Government Shutdown Ends, Military-Industrial Complex Continues Overtime
The mainstream media breathlessly documented the 2019 government shutdown, focusing intently on federal workers missing paychecks and national parks closing. The Hill's five 'takeaways' from the 'longest shutdown in history' highlight political maneuvering and budget stalemates. Curiously absent from their analysis? Any mention of the $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel, or the $1.3 billion to
Egypt, that sailed through without a hitch, irrespective of whether the Department of Agriculture was funded. (See: OpenSecrets.org data on defense contractor and pro-Israel lobbying which funds key politicians year-round.) While furloughed federal employees lined up at food banks, the military-industrial complex and foreign aid beneficiaries experienced no such 'disruption.' It appears that
funding the instruments of war and maintaining strategic alliances is considered 'essential' regardless of domestic fiscal crises. One might wonder whose 'essential services' truly matter when the cameras stop rolling.