1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

Recently a Republican senator responded to my letter on the federal budget continuing resolution to keep the government running. While I disagreed with the entire premise of “kicking the can” down the road, one paragraph in that letter was actually true: "History has repeatedly shown that shutting down the government is bad policy and bad politics. It costs taxpayers money to shut down the government and even more to re-open it. A government shutdown reduces essential services for the American people, erodes the trust of the American people, and limits the ability of Congress to conduct oversight over federal government operations.” The part I don’t understand is why doesn’t that same logic hold for the thousands of federal employees who were fired, then REINSTATED! Isn’t that just a huge waste of money? Why did you let that happen? Most accounts of savings from government firings are minimal. In fact, the savings may even COST our country more in the long run. I worked in private industry my entire life, and firing, then hiring employees later is a very costly and time-consuming endeavor. It might save money in the very short term, but it inevitably costs the company much more in lost opportunities, wage increases for the new hires, turnover, mistakes and low moral. It’s clear you do not understand the gravity of what is taking place by Trump and Musk. They are dismantling agencies, offices and firing smart people who help run our country. We will pay for this in so many ways, not even Musk can comprehend the damage. Just remember, YOU are complicit in the enactment of Project 2025 which seeks to dismantle the government so that private entities can take over and govern how they choose. Not the America I grew up in! We are being lied to each and every day. I am so tired of listening to blatant lies and spins. You need to take a stand and speak out, vote out, and throw out those who are undermining and destroying one of the greatest nations on Earth.