Unfortunately, allowing "the posturing Yahoos on the Hill" to close down
an important exhibition -- not to mention the Smithsonian and other
cultural institutions -- is one way to bring home to John Q Public just
how !@#$%^&*+ the situation is.  Too many of the middle class think that
"government services" are primarily a transfer of wealth from their
pockets to those of the perhaps-deserving poor.

As long as the Post Office continues to function, and the tax collector
continues to siphon away at our paychecks, the majority of folks think
that "essential" services continue.

--Bayla Singer
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