Re. the government "shutdown:"

If the government has no authorized operating funds, why doesn't
the whole government shut down?  Congress should be working FOR
FREE (since we taxpayers have already paid them for this year)
to untangle the budget problems; why is the IRS busy mailing out
stuff, if they have no money to do it?  The arts, the National
Parks, are considered "non-essential," so they get shut down
or cut off first.

Like I said, taxpayers have already paid the government to
function for a full year--and we're about to pay them for
1996.  What if taxpayers refused to pay for services they're
not getting?

Just another disgruntled academic.  My opinions are mines,
not my institutions.

Jenni Rodda, Curator
Visual Resources Collections
Institute of Fine Arts
1 East 78th Street
New York, NY  10021
(212) 772-5872, fax (212) 772-5807, [log in to unmask]

P.S.  I think the Post Office has been privatized, has it not?
Last I heard, they were financially self-sufficient, which is
why they keep raising postage rates.