My friends and I are relieved to stop breaking the law — because of last week’s announcement of the temporary end of the federal government shutdown. We’ve been giving cash and cash gift cards to furloughed federal workers we know, and even some we don’t. And if you’ve done it, you’re illegal, too. I know it sounds strange, but it turns out federal employees are not supposed to accept money. The intent is to protect against bribery, which seems reasonable. But more than a month since President Trump shut down the government, the people with empty gas tanks and depleted pantries can start to get back on their feet. I’m cautiously optimistic that Friday’s agreement, while negotiations continue, means the shutdown is finally over. But I know it only happened, finally, because the suffering went far beyond the 800,000 federal workers and millions of government contractors who were out of work.
It’s been heartwarming to see small cafes and large restaurants open their doors and offer free lunch or dinner to the shutout workers. I mean, they have a bottom line to consider, too. Leading the effort, Jose Andres, the Washington D.C.-based celebrity chef and humanitarian, who set up hot food stations to feed these workers, as he has in earthquake-leveled Haiti and hurricane-damaged Puerto Rico. Greater Boston restaurants like Blue Dragon and Mei Mei signed on to his #ChefsforFeds. It’s been great to see Americans going out of their way to help fellow Americans in a crisis, but how pathetic is it that their generosity was sparked by a manufactured one?
It’s been shocking to see how removed President Trump and his administration are from the trials of regular people. The president, who was satisfied the furloughed workers would “adjust” to life without a paycheck. But he, who has never done without, didn’t know what he was talking about. Neither did his billionaire commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, who was puzzled about why the workers didn’t just get a loan. And so, too, a lot of the other politicians mouthing platitudes. My parents grew up poor and they made a comfortable life, though a long way from rich. But they always made sure that I and my sister saw that there are some who struggled, even if they were working.
I have felt helpless watching the fear and despair rise among the workers trying to survive. I imagined the cold sweat desperation of not knowing when and if you will get relief. And as the president emphasized in announcing the new deal, the furloughed federal workers at least have the promise of getting their back pay. But the millions of federal contractors — mostly low-wage workers and minorities — can only hope lawmakers will make them whole. They may not. Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley introduced a bill recently which would help them get paid, but it would have to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.
This shutdown has revealed a lot of uncomfortable truths: How economically fragile many of us are; how even the jobs considered to be the most stable are vulnerable to outside forces; how few public servants will step up in a fraught political situation. But even though the government is reopening, recovery will be slow and painful. Massachusetts Rep. Lori Trahan warned local business leaders the residual cost of the 35-day shutdown will be "astronomically high.”
Meanwhile, I’m checking in with the workers I know to make sure they are OK. And I’m still making plans to patronize the restaurants which offered free food, now and in the future. We’ll know in three weeks, but I fear all the new deal will do is offer temporary relief only to have the president declare another shutdown if negotiations don’t go his way. I hope that won’t happen, but if it does, I’m prepared to flaunt the law again.
