What is a government shutdown?

It means everyone who works for the federal government is laid off because there’s no money appropriated to pay them.

It means if you work for the federal government, you are laid off. Congress cannot pass a budget, the Tea Party has been clamoring for a government shut-down for some time.

The Washington Post has an article about its implications.

Government shut-downs have happened before, when Congress could not pass a budget.

A lot of government programs provide essential services to the public. It’s quite probable that some employees will be asked to work if they’re willing to accept an IOU in order to keep some services available.

This article provides a pretty good listing of what would and would not be effected. Government employees considered non-essential will be sent home. In the past they have back paid non-essentials sent home, but it is not expected to happen this time.

The truth is, there should be very little noticable impact. Essential services will continue such as SS, Welfare, Medicare, etc. If you are looking for an FHA loan to buy a house, it may be delayed. If you are counting on your tax rebate, it may be delayed (although I hear all electronic returns will continue to be processed). Overall it is not a major issue.

It’s a myth. A pipe dream.

I think the Tea Party’s influence is in Congress not passing a budget. My comment is directed towards meaning that there are political factions who are in favor of the government shutting down. It’s shut down before, without the Tea Party.

Obama is demanding a budget by the end of the week, or he will veto any continuing resolutions to extend the deadline.

No mail. it would kill my ebay biz

[mod says] Please stick to answering the actual question: What is a government shutdown? What could this mean for America?

LMAO! The impact on 99.99% of America won’t even be felt.

@SpatzieLover The USPS will continue to run. They are their own entity. The money they bring in pays their expenses.

@CaptainHarley I think there is almost 2 million fed workers, they will feel affected. But, I tend to agree that for a few days or even weeks, the average person won’t notice a difference. Eventually, if it drags on long enough, the shut down will start to matter. It will affect the economy in and around DC, and of course there are fed workers in other parts of the country. The federal government is inimately intwined with private industry, giving financial grants, approving drugs to market, etc. It will be felt if let to go on to long.

@JLeslie If it drags on, it will effect DC most definitely; however, it will also effect the local economies around military installations drastically as well. At this point, they have not approved pay for active military personnel to continue through the shutdown. They still have to report to work and it is presumed they will be back paid, but in the meantime, many businesses who deal with the military will not get paid if the military does not get paid.

What I find ironic is that welfare payments have already been approved through September (according to the article I posted previously.) So approval to pay those who do not work for their ‘income’ has been already handled but not for those who are expected to work with or without pay.

@optimisticpessimist Right. I said that. Fed workers are around the country, not just DC.

@optimisticpessimist Correct…I didn’t come back to edit. No Mail of returns. Peeps need tax monies to buy my stuff.

Yes, I hope most people file electronically, but I have lots of grandparents that buy from me

Most government workers will see an increase in their annual pay. They will get back pay for the time they are furloughed, and they will get overtime for the extra time they put in to get the backlog of work done.
They may have a little short term discomfort if the shutdown drags on for an extended period of time, but they will get all of the pay back eventually. The people this will hurt the most are the taxpayers that are getting ready to retire, and the people that are filing for WIC, Medicaid, Medicare and other government programs.