As a federal employee, I’m frustrated with the ongoing partial government shutdown because it’s all about politics.

It’s not about border security. Both sides agree that the southern border is not secure and have advocated for some type of increased security in the past.

It’s definitely not about the money. The $5.7 billion requested for the border wall is one-eighth of 1 percent of the proposed $4.4 trillion federal budget. For the average family in the U.S., whose median income is $60,000 per year, one-eighth of 1 percent is about $75.

That’s an insult. And it shows this is all about politics. The president wants to fulfill the campaign promise he made. That will help him in the 2020 election. The Democratic leadership doesn’t want him to fulfill his promise because it will increase its chances of taking back the White House in 2020.

The federal workers don’t matter to our political leadership, only winning elections.

Lonnie Hammack

Aiea

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