Politicians will pay later for their shutdown now

Hawaii’s military importance may be what is saving the state from the potentially disastrous effects of the federal shutdown.

With the end result of the negotiations in Washington still unknown at press time yesterday, it appears that most of Hawaii’s federal workers have already been spared.

The state Labor Department calculates there are 25,500 civilian defense workers in Hawaii. Almost all of them are back at work, thanks to the decision by Chuck Hagel, the secretary of defense, to put furloughed civilian defense workers back on the job.

There are another 8,600 federal workers in Hawaii, and the state is trying to track their employment status, but it is almost on a case-by-case basis.

"We are not sure how many are considered essential and still at work," said William Kunstman, labor department spokesman.

The economics of the shutdown are still of concern — labor uncertainty is never good — but so far, it appears that on a macro level Hawaii is lucky.

"We got an exemption for the shipyard — that is the bulk of our federal workers, so it is not going to have as big an impact as originally thought," said Lowell Kalapa, president of the Hawaii Tax Foundation.

The large federal worker presence in Hawaii is sheltered, Kalapa said, though there are still bills to be paid because of the workers on furloughs.

"If this continues, then more people will suffer. There is an issue with Social Security and Head Start programs over the long term," Kalapa said.

Figuring out the economic triage for Hawaii may take a back seat to the overall economic and political mess the impasse in Washington is causing across the country.

Hawaii economist Paul Brewbaker said the country will pay.

"Saying that a temporary shutdown is largely inconsequential is not the same thing as saying it is inconsequential. The adverb matters," said Brewbaker.

"The rest of the world believes the U.S. is losing its grip on central government fiscal responsibility, because it has. Reputations are built on behavior, and the behavior of the U.S. Congress has soiled America’s reputation, repeatedly and across many dimensions," Brewbaker said.

On a micro level, the latest polls show the federal shutdown and the endless drama and name-calling just cheapens the brand of Congress and the federal government.

"All of Washington’s elected leaders earn negative marks for handling budget negotiations, but the public’s ire toward Republicans in Congress has hardened quicker than disap- proval of President Obama and Democrats," The Washington Post reported yesterday as it revealed a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Almost 75 percent of Americans disapprove of the actions by Republicans in Congress. And 61 percent disapprove of how Democrats are handling the self-created problems.

What is not being measured, but what is in the back of everyone’s mind, is that whatever happens to end the current shutdown is going to be a stopgap solution, not an end to the culture of economic crisis.

If the GOP blockade resurfaces, however, the solution may be imposed by voters who vote out of office the political party they think is most to blame.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser. com.