With the U.S. government shut down, people should be asking some difficult questions.

Is having the border wall so important that the public stands by while President Trump refuses to negotiate with Congress? Saying “it’s the wall or nothing” is not negotiating in good faith.

Are American citizens’ welfare simply a Trump business deal where only he gets his way or it’s no way, sometimes causing a bankruptcy?

Is the wall really worth causing serious financial peril for millions of workers?

Is having the wall so important that American citizens can be denied access to their government, after almost 200 years without a wall? Like it or not, everyone depends on a fully functional government, and people need to know that the agencies that affect them personally are available.

Based on half of Trump’s $5.7 billion cost to build the wall, is it really worth the cost of $540/foot or $2,850,000 per mile?

Would anyone feel confident enough to send their children into harm’s way as a result of Trump’s unilateral actions? For instance, is Syria really safe now? He said ISIS is gone; would you go there?

How many people, many of whom are leaders in their fields, have been fired or just quit Trump’s administration only to be verbally assaulted and insulted by the same man who hired them? Are there any business owners who operate like that?

Sometimes good leaders have to be stubborn in order to have things happen. But stubborn cannot be dictated extortion.

Joseph Mailey, Auburn