UNITED STATES—So after more than a month of being closed, the federal government has reopened its doors, with President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the other members of Congress planning to work out a deal regarding government funding and the border wall. Why is this vital? Well, at the moment the government is open until February 15, but if a deal is not reached by then the closure could go back into effect. Based on Trump’s announcement if a deal is not reached then, the government will shut back down and there is no telling how long that closure will last.

I think I’m more frustrated as an American to know that it lasted as long as it did. I mean I think the rope was tightening for many members in Congress and the American government; it became a realization that people were seriously impacted by the closure. Missing a single paycheck can be a deal breaker for many families. They cannot afford to go a week, let alone a month without any source of income. Food was needed, bills needed to be paid, childcare, the list goes on and on and on.

Do I believe that Trump and Congress can barter a deal? Gosh, I wish I could say yes, but something tells me that unless these politicians can place their egos at the door, it will not happen. I don’t believe this has anything to do with the border wall, the government; it’s all about power if you ask me. I suspect the cave in, you can decide to point fingers in whatever direction you choose, it was all about the government being further impacted by the shutdown that led both parties to take a hard look in the face and say, “What are we doing here?”

Members of the TSA stopped showing up to work, closures were taking place at airports, the Food Stamp program was on the verge of leaving millions of Americans without food assistance for the month of March, The Internal Revenue Service was short staff, and tax season while underway, could delay potential refunds from being sent to Americans who are owed what they overpaid to Uncle Sam in 2018. To be honest the notion that we’re even talking about a government shutdown or the possibility of another transpiring just sickens me to my stomach.

For those workers who just went back to work, they will finally receive those paychecks that they missed, but they have a stressor on their hands in less than 3 weeks if a deal is not reached between the Republicans and Democrats on funding for the federal government and the border wall. As an American, the thought of not knowing if I have job security or rather I will get paid is enough to make me go bonkers. It is a scary feeling, and I must admit I have sympathy for all the federal workers who have dealt with such disgusting treatment in the past month.

I seriously hope that the American government can hunker done on a deal so that we’re not having this discussion several weeks from now about another shutdown; one that could last much longer than the most recent one. If you work, you should be paid for your work and if you’re not, no employer even the federal government should expect employees to work and have the promise that they will be paid at a later date.

Written By Kelsey Thomas