So, you think the government shutdown is just impacting the PandaCam at the National Zoo? 19,000 children won't be attending Headstart funded-preschooling and day care today.
If you listen to the legacy media, you might think it's just museums, monuments, zoos, and national parks affected by the government shutdown. You'd be wrong.
CORNISH: Now, not every Head Start program in the country is being forced to close due to the government shutdown. Can you talk about why programs like yours have been more affected than some others?
JONES: Yes. It depends on your funding date from the government. There are programs that have funding dates that could begin with any month in the year. But since my program is a program that operates with funding from October 1st through September 30th, they shut down before they passed a continued resolution to fund those 10-1 programs.
So, 19,000 children won't be attending head start funded-preschooling and day care today. When you listen to Ms. Jones' voice (and you really should listen to the entire interview at the link above if you have five minutes), you can almost hear the desperation of parents asking about alternatives. For some parents, this is the only government-subsidized program that keeps their kids safe while they work at their minimum wage jobs. For some kids, this is about EATING, for goodness sakes. Her program, by her own admission, provides the only nutritious meal that many kids will eat on any given day. You can hear the anger, fear, and desperation when she speaks.
Definitely listen to the entire interview if you have five minutes. It's almost heartbreaking. This is happening in America because of the GOP, not some third world country dictator, decided to get capricious with program funding.
(Thinking about it, maybe OxFam or one of the charitable organizations I've given to before needs to step in and rescue head start in Talladega, Alabama. which some would consider as third world.)
Oh, and one more thing? Ms. Jones' program also employees 240 people. They don't work for the federal government. But they were laid off yesterday on a moments notice. 19,240 non-governmental works in a single program affected in a very tangible (and hurtful) way on the first day of the U.S. government shutdown.
Multiply this by many times across the country.