One of the cold, hard facts about government shutdowns is they really aren’t “closed.”  Yes, non-essential government employees are technically “furloughed” but the Congress ultimately ends up paying them for that lost time.  Call it congressional guilt.

And the private businesses that rely upon those employees for certain services during the shutdown?  Well, they get stiffed.  These businesses come to a grinding halt as federal employees are not available to perform certain services.  When the government resumes operations, these businesses are not compensated for the time the agencies were shut down as federal employees are.

Who’s to blame?  Congress and the White House.

I have an easy solution to the whole problem.  Every Member of Congress and senior member of the Obama administration should have to donate a year’s salary to be put into a pool from which the Small Business Administration would issue grants to small businesses reliant upon government services during the shutdown.

Maybe this would teach the President and Congress to recognize this is not a game of Monopoly with fake money.  These shutdowns cripple small businesses and stunt economic growth and development.

Remember this shutdown during the mid-term elections next year.  Those on Capitol Hill need to be held accountable.