We should all be thankful for the thousands of federal government workers who have continued to work without pay during the weeks of shutdown. Air traffic controllers, National Weather Service employees, members of the military services and National Guard, altogether hundreds of thousands of people whose services we depend on to keep the country running and keep us safe.

But there are just as many federal employees who have been furloughed, who aren’t working and aren’t getting paid. And this is to say nothing of the millions who depend on SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families.

Oh, but all the members of Congress, senators and representatives, are continuing to receive their paychecks. This despite the fact that they aren’t doing any work. Unless you count blaming someone else for the shutdown as work.

The ones who are truly at fault are us, the American people. We should be demanding that our elected representatives act like responsible adults, learn to compromise, and pay attention to the needs of the people who elected them. They need to care more about their people than about their party, or their leader. If not, they should be fired.

DR. ARNO VOSK

Williamsport

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom