I am going to give a different perspective on the topic. I spent 20 years in the Coast Guard and went back to work for the Coast Guard as a civilian when I retired. I have been a civilian employee for 13 years. With that said, I tend to be a small government type person. I see a lot of government waste in various forms and I see individual employees who are a waste of money. There are some government employees doing important work and doing it very well though. The importance of my position is arguable. My productivity is not. Of all the people who do what I do on the Gulf Coast, I have historically turned in the best numbers by far. I don't say that to toot my own horn but to set the stage for my overarching point. My job is highly independent. I work alone and rarely see the person who is my supervisor. Most of my job take proactive rather than reactive/response effort. I take my duty as a public servant seriously. I want to give the taxpayers and the people I serve the very best I can give them for their tax dollars. I always will, no matter how much I am used as a political pawn by our dysfunctional congress. But there are others who will abandon their loyalty over this. The government management model and organizational construct produces mediocrity as it is. They can ill afford to have disloyal, dispassionate employees who don't feel a sense of importance or belonging. Morale is important. These shutdowns have a productivity cost that cannot be measured. There are good people who will reach their fill over this and become the type who will do as little as possible for their paycheck. Why bust their balls for an ungrateful employer and an often ungrateful public. I have seen it happen.
