African American Mayors Association Calls for End to Shutdown

As January nears an end, the IRS is recalling some of its 46-workers to begin processing tax returns and refunds. They will not receive a paycheck and neither will other workers considered “essential” like Cassandra Randolph who returned Monday to her job with the USDA.

Randolph, a single parent, says, “If it goes on for two or three months, I’ll be homeless. I have an autistic daughter. She’s eight-years-old, and it took me forever to find before and after care…they are so wonderful and everything, and she’s happy there. And, you have to pay, no matter what, to keep the spot for the children.”

For almost 16 years, Randolph has worked for a rural development program that grants low-income government loans. Some of those years were defined by struggle borne of serious medical challenges. She survived a cancer diagnosis and her daughter’s infancy which was marked by doubts her child would even live.

“I’m like, ‘You know what I’ve made it through death, my daughter made it through death, this is a small thing,’” Randolph says. “But, I have never had an empty refrigerator, and I looked at my refrigerator…down to sausage, chicken breasts, and chicken nuggets. When my boss called me, I said, ‘I have less than a quarter tank of gas in my truck. I took my last check to pay all of my bills for January.’”

The kindness of those she knows is helping as the government shutdown stretches into another week. Randolph says the girlfriend of her two children’s father filled up her tank and gave her cash. She and her co-workers stay in touch for encouragement, and most of them are facing the same hardships.

The government shutdown is taking a toll on President Trump’s approval rating among his strongest supporters, white Americans without a college degree. According to a CNN poll, dissatisfaction with the President’s handling of the crisis in increasing in that subgroup and also among white Americans who do have a college degree. Several polls indicate most Americans place the blame for the shutdown on President Trump more so than Democrats.

Earlier this week, the African American Mayors Association which represents more than 500 mayors released a statement, calling on the President to end the shutdown.

The statement read, in part: “The impact of the federal government shutdown is felt by citizens in every state across America, especially, the four out of five Americans living paycheck to paycheck. In addition, many of our most vulnerable citizens are losing access to important federal programs that provide essential nutrition assistance, farming support, housing assistance, and child care.”

With concern growing daily around the country, Randolph says she feels like a pawn. She is frustrated especially by the demand to return to work just as she had begun searching for temporary employment to offset the financial crisis she’s experiencing created by the shutdown.

“I’ve always thought of myself as a very hard worker, but you put me in a situation where I have to rely on the system, and these are the people you talk about,” she says. “And, you’re taking all of your hard workers and forcing them to rely on the system.”