It has been three weeks since the shutdown began yet these has been no significant interruption. For most people, the changes are imperceptible. This vindicates to some degree the libertarian position that most government employees and programs are useless/redundant/unnecessary. One of the most common arguments against libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism is that there will be chaos and disorder without government, and yet 420,000 federal workers have been furloughed for almost a month now, with no substantial interruption or disorder. Unfortunately, furloughed employees get back pay, which sorta negates the budget-saving aspects of the shutdown and amounts to no more than a huge tax-payer funded paid vacation for these workers. Also, Trump’s approval rating has held steady at 41%, not falling as some on the left predicted would happen if the shutdown continued. Some say the left is obstructing Trump because they are pro-immigration, which is true that they are, but what they really want is to deny Trump a win, however small. Capitulating would signal defeat. The left knows even if Trump gets his funding, it’s scarcely a guarantee anything will be built by the end of his first term, and if so, that it will be a continuous concrete wall, and if he loses construction will be terminated by his successor. $5 billion is not enough, especially given all the administrative waste and bloat that inevitably comes with any government project. If Trump gets funding, rather than a wall being built, for his 2020 campaign he will chalk it up as a ‘win’ and promise to use the funds to build a wall if reelected, which his voters will support. It’s better than nothing, but means we can expect a lot more Ann Coulter wall updates.