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That family trip to the Grand Canyon could be in jeopardy if Congress and the White House fail to reach a budget agreement.
April 7th, 2011
07:48 PM ET
10 things that could ruin your day if the government shuts down
The list of collateral effects of a potential government shutdown keeps growing and people are none too pleased about it. Here are just a few of the negative impacts that could arise if Congress and the White House fail to reach an agreement on the budget (click here to view in chart form):
- The lawmakers who hold the cards will still get paid. Their staffers might be furloughed, though. That has prompted a few lawmakers to announce they'll refuse shutdown pay,but even that has elicited critiques of political posturing.
- Roughly 800,000 federal workers won't get paid because they're considered nonessential and therefore, the first to be furloughed. That includes people who work in national parks because they'll be closed, ruining countless long family road trips. And it's not just the loss of income that hurts - for many, it's being labeled dispensable when they know their jobs are anything but nonessential.
- What happened to all that talk of helping small businesses? Many government contractors are just that. We're talking about IT firms and software companies, to name a few, who may be sent home as well.
- If the government shuts down for an extended period of time, the Department of Defense says troops, including those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, may not be paid on time. Troops are guaranteed back-pay but the pinch will be more immediate for military families at home, who may be forced to choose between food and rent if they don't know when to expect a check in the mail.
- In the District, trash pickup will be suspended in the event of a government shutdown. In response, some enterprising Facebookers have proposed a solution: "If Boehner shuts down the government I am taking my trash to his house." In addition to trash pickup, the nation's capitol stands to miss out on another cherished tradition: this weekend's Cherry Blossom Festival.
- As the shutdown looms, some political leaders are taking the opportunity to fundraise and rally their supporters. The executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent out an appeal asking for a minimum $5 donation saying the organization wants to raise $100,000 in the next 36 hours.
- Numerous services administered by the federal government will come to a halt. That means no new approvals of loans by the Federal Housing Administration or the Small Business Administration; no IRS processing of paper tax returns or refunds; no issuing of regular passports or visas (emergency visas and passports will be processed). In fact, anything that requires permits probably will not be processed.
- You'll still get your Social Security checks but don't expect anyone to be around to answer your questions about benefits. The people who take questions on Social Security and Medicare questions will not be at work and most government websites will shut down or have limited functionality.
- Various agencies with the Department of Health and Human Services will operate in a patchwork fashion. The National Institutes of Health will not accept new patients or start new clinical trials. The Food and Drug Administration won't operate at full capacity but will have some inspectors on staff. As a result, all FDA inspections of food processing facilities and drug manufacturing plants will be prioritized by risk.
- Word is getting around that a government shutdown doesn't actually save taxpayers money. For one, it will cost the government money to ensure a smooth transition to a shutdown. Then there's the lost revenue from a variety of sources, from government services to gift shops in government-run attractions such as Yosemite National Park and DC's National Gallery of Art.
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New images released by astronomers who used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile reveatwitter.com/i/web/status/1…OK95
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start recalling the nazi tea party,
Why is the military still in Iraq? I think we have had both Bush and Obama declare that the Iraq war was over with. It seems that our military Leaders do not want to resolve war in order to keep collecting a paycheck. As long as "the hunt for Obama" continues they(CIA FBI military etc) still have jobs. Therefore they have no incentive to actually "find" him.
For every one of the 800,000 gov employees there are at least three contractor employees out of work, that's 3.2 million workers!
Why don't we try something new, add a portion to the federal income where tax payers have an opportunity to choose where there portion of the discretionary funds are spent. If you want your tax dollars spent on NPR and Planned Parenthood check the box. Take away the power of these politicians. We could start with discretionary and add until we decide on all spending. Then we could get rid of the most expensive and useless government workers CONGRESS.
The only power I have in this political game is to not re-elect anyone who is involved in this mess.
If it took me 6 months to get my work done, I would have been fired!
My say will come in November.
Wow, all this and our "wonderful" president is going to spend a BILLION dollars campaigning, such a great and honorable man. *eyeroll*
What a mess. Nice to have democrats in offfice huh?
Better than the alternative.
Shut it down..all the Gov does is tax the s%&% out of you, then spend it like drunken sailors..Even a drunk stops spending when he's out of money. These bozo's think they can just continue to raise the debt limit, continue to print more.
the budget would be balanced if they would immediately end the three illegal immoral wars.
Belgiums central gov shut down a year ago and the people are celebrating their anniversary of NO Gov...and everything is fine there.
We don;t need the 800,000 taxfeeders that are lazy inefficient and drunk with their tiny little power trips.
Shut it down and Never open it again
Yeah, fire the Border Patrol and let the drug smugglers roam free!!
Well Mike, maybe you should make a firm statement and NOT file your tax return this year.
Let us know how that works...
I've always said that Obama was an ignorent piece of crap "MUSLIM" and that he was surely going to take down this country!! You people that voted him in are so very stupid not to see what him Congress and all the other Dems were up to. Aas for their jobs, they should all be recalled or face the chance of an all out war against the AMERICAN PEOPLE!!! As for our troops, they should go to the rear and do nothing except defend themselves, to hell with following the orders of the upper brass. What are they going to do, fire them all? I'll be dammed if I would go out in the field with the thought of my family going hungry and falling apart back home. This will get you dead in a heartbeat not keeping your mind on the fight instead of worrying about your family.. To all AMERICANS I SAY, REVOLT AND REVOLT WITH A VENGENCE!!!" IF THEY DON'T QUIT, TAKE THEM OUT BY FORCE!!!
Hey genious, who got us into this mess to begin with? Did Obama start 2 unneccsary wars? Oh wait, that was W!!!
And of course you think the Republicans have nothing to do with the mess this country is in. What are Obama and the Democrats but Republican-lite? There is the Republican party and the party that has said "Me too" for the past 30 years. You can't just blame the Democrats, because they both stink and both parties have sold this nation out.
Petty squabble you are blind to see. Left or Right the arms(Government) dont move without the body($) and the hands(Reps and Dems) are quick to steal whats not theirs. You should see for yourself that you live in a moneteristic government and the shutdown should prove that to you. The ones on the hill have run out of things to steal from the world now they want to steal from you. RepDems they are pepsi and coke both a crappy color wrapped in blue and red.
Budgets were better balanced during the Clinton years - BEFORE George W decided it was imperative for the wealthiest to receive bigger tax cuts. As a percentage, the cuts didn't really make any significant difference to the tax payer. However, they sent our budget out of control.
It's time to repeal the tax cuts for everyone.
And yes, it's also time to make some REAL budget cuts - not the fluffy fax budget cuts that are being discussed.
We are so far in debt our bottom line is a butt crack
http://www.zazzle.com/were_so_far_in_debt_tshirt-235463429536874024
No Tracy, you are wrong.
Everyone is complaining. Lets get the people together and protest this nonsense. How do you determine if a person is nonessential? I am tired of this distraction of the real problem. Democrats Republicans who cares. At the end of the day both are not getting the job done for the people. Lets Protest. If they want a war Lets give them a war.
Military families should NOT have to worry about whether or not they are going to be able to pay rent or not. The men and women that fight for OUR country and OUR freedom should be a main priority. It's the least that our government could do for what our troops do for them, don't you think? They don't care, they're still getting paid...
blame who you want. this simple truth is those on the hill dont a have clue as to how to do their jobs. in fact they are such an arrogant worker that they feel they can close the store with the customer in the building. but fear not all you weak frightened minds. volunteers are many and always around and so simple to find. we will volunteer our time, to better your day, to give you peace of mind, we will work together as we always have and we will get back up on our feet. To those who need to hear this most but cant, No nation is built without volunteers. As a former Mayor I can say this, "When no one else will. You have to."
I agree. We as a people are the only ones that can fix this. In the future I believe it's going to be up to us to decide and not some corrupt politician. It's headed for disaster at this rate. When there is no money and no jobs we will HAVE to volunteer and help one another out like it should have always been.
Stop calling it a "shutdown". That term does nothing but incite fear and worry while the consequences hardly affect the average American. But then again it is just like the average American to cry foul for their woes at every chance they can get, in which case excellent term and maybe even embellish it with "unprecedented shutdown", because really, they're all one of a kind anyway.