As Washington stumbles through yet another government shutdown, we’re hearing the usual chorus of panic: Headlines warn of catastrophe and politicians point fingers. NY Post contributor Romina Boccia shares this story.
But in reality, shutdowns are just noisy political theater.
They rarely cut government spending, they don’t rein in the debt, and they don’t force lawmakers to make the tough choices our nation desperately needs.
All they accomplish is distraction — masking the far greater debt crisis Congress is refusing to address.
The United States’ publicly held debt, meaning the money Washington has borrowed from credit markets, exceeds $30 trillion — almost the size of the entire US economy and continuing to grow.
That’s more than $230,000 per household, the amount of a mortgage with no house to show for it.
Interest payments are exploding, already exceeding some of the biggest federal budget items, including defense and Medicare.
Every dollar we borrow today piles new burdens onto tomorrow’s taxpayers and inches us closer to a full-blown fiscal crisis.
The shutdown fight may grab media attention, but the real crisis is what’s happening when government is open for business.
Let’s be clear: A shutdown doesn’t mean the government disappears.
Social Security checks still go out, troops stay on duty; it’s mostly parks and federal offices that close.
And it’s temporary. Once a shutdown ends, federal employees receive back pay.
In other words, there are no taxpayer savings — just a costly pause in orderly government operations.
Read more at https://nypost.com/2025/10/02/opinion/shutdown-drama-avoids-the-real-problem-obscene-national-debt/
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