# living paycheck to paycheck **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-paycheck-to-paycheck/827004 "2018-12-31T21:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 77
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-paycheck-to-paycheck/827004/77 "2019-01-02T06:49:13Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Let’s try not to hijack the poor thread. But I’ll note that the government is partially “shut down” right now and I’m not missing any of the functions that are on hold. Should I make another thread? Because I think this is worth going over, and I’d quite like to know what functions you think we can permanently get rid of. Is it the coast guard? The FBI? NASA? The IRS? All of these agencies are affected by the shutdown, and the fact that you, personally, are not missing any of their functions says very little about their actual utility, or whether anyone else needs them. ``` Department of the Treasury Department of Agriculture Homeland Security Department Department of the Interior Department of State Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Transportation Department of Commerce Department of Justice ``` Those are the departments that close down completely. Can you tell me what any of them actually do? I’m calling you out, because this is a common pattern among people on the right. “We could trim so much fat from the government!” “Okay, what? Be specific.” “Uhhhhhhh…” > [@Slash1972](#): > > What do you mean? The only way people don’t know to look for a solution to a problem, is if they don’t consider it a problem. Or if you don’t know that a solution is possible. If you don’t know that it’s possible to do it better. If you know you have a problem, but don’t know that it’s a problem that’s _possible_ to fix. It’s not a trivial issue. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-paycheck-to-paycheck/827004)._