Are We Now Settling Into A Dystopia? Federal Government Bleeding From Within.

[TheMastersNemesis]

The Paris Agreement withdrawal is a new level of dystopia. And we have to wonder what other "shock and awe" actions are in the wings. This withdrawal is just the beginning of a further and more serious unraveling of our democracy. Massive sabotage of our federal institutions is at hand. We have to wonder what the "wrecking crew" cabinet is up to in our federal agencies and what is happening to our federal work force.

By freezing all hiring and allowing the government to become anemic is a better way to shut down government. It is like an unrecognized metastatic disease. Everything will look fine until the patient just collapses. In the VA alone there are 45,000 unfilled health care positions that will remain that way. Meanwhile health care professional will still be leaving. The State department is becoming more vacant. Foreign affairs experts are probably now in short supply.

Trump and the GOP are infiltrating these agencies with saboteurs. They want the Social Security checks, Medicare payments, environmental enforcement, labor law enforcement, DOJ oversight, FAA inspections to stop, OSHA to wither, et al to just slowing grind to a halt. In a year or two we may be in a federal crisis

[Squinch]

1. And even if we somehow come out of this, even if we stagger to 2018 and manage to get

Congress back and begin to rebuild what we have lost, this administration's disdain for our laws and for the procedures of government will have eroded the strength of our system forever.

Even if we return to a government for the benefit of the governed, the Republicans have taken away the underpinnings of our basic social contracts. The possibility for flaunting even the most basic decency will now always be there. Our foundation has been fractured. This same kind of corruption will rear its head whenever the Republicans have a tantrum or see a possibility of making a buck off the suffering of millions.

We may survive the Trump debacle for another decade or two, but he has set a precedent that can't be undone.

America as we like to think of it is over.

[NCjack]

2. Our hope appears to be that Trumpeters will feel more intense pain and sooner

than the rest of us. Hell of way to run a country. nt

[Dustlawyer]

3. They have already neutered most of the regulatory agencies, OSHA being one of them.

They have had their budgets cut repeatedly over the years to the point that they don't have the manpower to inspect workplace safety. Our refineries and chemical plants already are on the HONOR SYSTEM! They are supposed to "self report" leaks and accidents because OSHA only has the manpower to respond after a catastrophic event

The fines they levy get pled down to 5% or less of the original amount, but that happens after the media moves on. This is something I know a little about. The workers are afraid to report violations because they will be unemployable in the industry if they do. Good old Right to Work states, they company doesn't have to give a reason for getting rid of them.

To top it off, the regulatory agencies have been headed by industry toadies just to make sure they don't do their job!

[gordianot]

4. It comes down to energy.

Choose your source vendor or go clean energy.

[Squinch]

6. This is very true. This should be an OP.

[sharedvalues]

5. Yes. And the hiring freeze is still on

The hiring freeze is still on. There was an announcement that it was lifted but that is all PR. Mulvaney still needs to approve every hire. Which he doesn't .
So government hiring is still effectively frozen.