Long-time feds with short memories, or short-timers with long memories (whatever!) must be longing for the good old days – earlier this year – when they faced the very real threat of furloughs and payless paydays. Good times….

Back in the day (April 2011), hundreds of thousands of feds designated the equivalent of not-all-that-essential were stocking food (or making vacation plans) to survive an enforced layoff. The difference between the Great Furlough of 2011 (which didn’t happen) and previous furloughs was that there was no guarantee or even assumption that furloughed employees would get paid – eventually – as they had in past shutdowns.

The feeling then was that some members of Congress were so angry with the opposition, the deficit, the process or maybe even their kids, that they wanted to shut it down, let people (including their constituents) twist in the wind for awhile, then resume action. For some a shutdown would have made their point (however vague or wrong it might have been) and saved the Treasury all that salary money that wouldn’t be paid retroactively.

Now feds face a similar and yet very different situation: Will the government be shutdown on or about Aug. 2 if those stupid (Democrats, Republicans, Tea Party folks) fail to raise the debt ceiling and the government can’t, won’t or doesn’t pay all its bills using borrowed money?

Both the threatened April furloughs and the potential August default are ideological in large part, although one suspects some members don’t have a clue as to the potential ramifications of doing nothing. The furlough threat was another example of Congress failing to do its job and the White House trying to put its best foot forward while putting the boot into the opposition. Nothing new there.

But the debt ceiling has been with us before without generating so much passion and commentary. This is complicated stuff. Five years ago Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted against raising the debt ceiling, a vote, he has said since, that he regrets.

Government Executive contacted more than 100 feds in different agencies and reported that none of them had clear guidance or in most cases no guidance about what the August Armageddon might mean to them.

Early this year, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that failure to raise the debt ceiling could have an impact on military pay, federal pay, federal and military retirement benefits, Social Security and Medicare payments and payments to government contractors. He sent the shopping list of horrors to Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Congress has since voted to keep paying the military which is not a bad idea with two very serious hot-wars on-going. But other things, like your late August paycheck, may be up for grabs.

It’s hard to tell how much of this is bluff and where statesmanship ends and stupidity begins.

Although it has both comic and horrific aspects, the problem for most of us is that while this is the Washington equivalent of a reality show we can’t change channels!

To reach me, mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

Testimony given while under the influence of a truth serum (sodium amytal) is inadmissible in New Jersey courts.

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