Using government shutdowns as a political tool undermines democracy and vital public policy by discouraging bright, dynamic thinkers and doers from entering public service, warns LBJ School Dean Angela Evans in The Hill.
"Nothing could be more reckless than to seek to blackmail opponents into agreeing to a policy by placing the entire federal governance structure at risk, including the very agencies that carry out critical functions of offering safe environments in which to work, travel, eat, live, raise children and seek care," Evans writes.
"These consequences of shutdowns are bad enough in the short term. As dean of a public policy school, I fear that, in the long run, the greatest damage to our democracy may come from discouraging talented, idealistic young people from choosing public service as a career."