Will the Government Shut Down

Will the Government Shut Down? By Elton Camp In March, the federal government may shut down? Such a thing certainly has an extremely scary sound So does that mean that chaos will reign in the street? That the nation’s enemies nobody is around to defeat? But from past government shutdowns it is readily seen That words mean only what you choose them to mean Of two million federal workers, about half would be out The essential government agencies to work will be about Uncle Sam will still cough up your Social Security check The FBI and Border Patrol will operate so what the heck? The food inspection, air traffic control, mail and Medicare You can be sure all of these usual services will still be there But to visitors, every one of the National Parks will close Museum tours, veterans’ claims, passports, none of those Any tax refund from the Internal Revenue will have to wait But they’ll still take time to process payments, sure as fate To most federal workers, the shutdown won’t be consequential Except to the egos of those who find their jobs aren’t essential So will the federal government shut down like it has before? To have that happen, the president and congress both abhor