NASA Employee's Forced to Look Elsewhere to Make End's Meet
Post by: Carl Kohnke
Title: They Design Spacecraft and Fight Epidemics for America. The Shutdown May Scare Them Away.
Summary:
The standoff between President Trump and the Senate has pushed the government shutdown to a record high of 32 days (as of January 24th). This government shutdown has lead many NASA employees to miss their second paycheck of 2019. Though NASA is a US federal company, its shutdown affects people all around the world, like Dr. Costa of Brazil. Many newer NASA employees have diverted their efforts to working for other companies, like Lyft, to barely make ends meet. As NASA employee Dr. Kulis says, “We didn’t get Ph.D.s just to sit around”. Some of the smartest and most hardworking people are not being put to work, and this is showing a clear negative impact on national and international research and development for the company.
Opinion:
My opinion on this is the same as anyone else. I think the government shutdown is causing far more negative trauma to the country and the world than its worth. Whatever comes from the compromise after the shutdown is already not going to be worth the losses that it caused. I see it as a disgrace that such talented people are essentially forced to either sit on their hands or to go find another job.
Connection:
I can partially connect this to Japanese internment. During Japanese internment, many second-generation Americans who had already built their careers were forced from their homes into internment camps, where they were essentially forced to be useless to society. Despite having good training and an excellent work drive, an action from the government prevented them from doing their job, just as has been done now with these NASA workers.
Questions:
How else do you think the government shutdown affects people in the US?
How else has the government shutdown affected the whole world?
What could NASA workers do to help end the shutdown so they can return to work?
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