And that my friends is what the impact of a “government shut down” is; it has become a scare tactic. Here is the Cliff’s Notes version of a “government shutdown”: only non-essential civil service employees working in positions that are in agencies funded by Congress through discretionary dollars are furloughed e.g. told not to come to the office. And the pay of those employees may be deferred. Here is the key that everyone needs to remember:
All essential activities of the federal government continue as if a “shutdown” had never occurred.
The military is still alert and ready to defend. The border is still protected (sort of).
Social Security recipients still get paid.
Medicare and Medicaid are still funded.
The FBI is still able to do whatever it is that does these days right along with the other “security” agencies.
CDC is still able to track down lettuce contaminated with bacteria.
The list goes on.
According the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) there are more than two million civil service employees — of which roughly fewer than one-half will be furloughed. So unless you want to visit a national park or a museum run by the federal government more than likely you won’t miss a thing during a “shutdown”. You will still have to pay your taxes on time and be subject to federal laws and regulations and to arrest if you fail to obey them.
For all of you who may be a federal civil servant facing a furlough or have friends or family that are I just want to say this: Been there done that.
I was deemed to be an “essential employee” and so everyday I went to a largely empty building occupied only by myself and a very small handful of other non-civil service “essential employees”. And when pay day rolled around my check didn’t because the people at treasury who see that we all get paid on time had been furloughed.
Here is the down side if you are a furloughed employee and your pay is deferred until after the “shutdown” ends: banks still demand payment on time which includes your mortgage and credit card payments. If you financed your car through a dealer you still have to make your payment on time. If you have water, electricity or natural gas in your home you will still be required to pay your bills on time. IF you need to get food you will still be required to pay for it at the time of purchase. The same goes for gasoline for your car. All those things require immediate payment unless, of course, you put them on a credit card.
The larger question is this: Why does Congress do this and who is hurt the most?
This is a simple question to answer; Congress “shuts” the government down for political style points so that one party can blame the other party for causing a “shutdown”. But in reality both parties are to blame.
So who really suffers during a “shutdown”? Those who are furloughed and don’t get paid when they are supposed to be paid. It’s really a small fraction of Americans and so those of us unaffected by a furlough remain - well, we remain unaffected which is by design, because the last thing that the members of the House of Representative want to do is to “annoy” (insert your own euphemism) the majority of Americans who are their employers; a fact mostly forgotten by those members.
Beginning in 1981 the House of Representatives has forced the federal government to “shutdown” ten times (technically eleven).
1981 Ronald Reagan wanted deeper cuts in discretionary funding.
1982 Congress had parties to attend and just couldn’t be bothered to do their job. The Republicans had a White House Barbecue to attend and the Democrats had a fund raising dinner scheduled. Though this “shutdown” lasted only one-half day it did allow Reagan to obtain funding for the Contras in Nicaragua.
1984 This was actually two shutdowns separated by a few minutes or hours and it was prompted yet again by Reagan’s demand for funding for the Contras.
1986 Contra funding for the third time.
1990 George Bush Sr. promised “No new taxes.” which turned out to be a lie “annoying” House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
1995 In November Speaker Gingrich, Newt if you will, became “annoyed” (again — apparently Newt is easily “annoyed”) because President Clinton refused to speak to him on Air Force One while on a flight to Israel to attend the funeral of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. This was actually continued in December and lasted till January 1996. THIS ONE “annoyed” the public because national parks and museums were closed. It was these two “shut downs” that I was “allowed to participate” in by being deemed an unpaid “essential employee”.
2013 This one had some substance as the Republicans sought to stop funding for Obama’s “Affordable” Care Act e.g. ObamaCare. It didn’t work. I would have been happy for this one to still be going on because the remnants of the ACA is killing healthcare delivery in this nation.
2018 Trump v. Democrats over funding for “The Wall”.
2018-2019 “The Wall yet again. And yet again I would be quite happy if those two “shutdowns” were still in effect.
The aborted 2023 “shutdown” had one good outcome, Kevin McCarthy who has managed to cave to every democrat demand and has continued to provide for a deepening deficit and has failed to provide support for the titular head of the party, the consummate non-politician, politician — Donald Trump.
So that’s it. That’s what a “shutdown” is and how they have happened in the past. Congress, the House, should be embarrassed. IF you want to know what the House of Representatives is supposed to be doing you can find it here in Article I, Sections 2., 4., 5., 7., 8., 9.; and 10, The Constitution of the United States of America. There aren’t that many duties and they’re not all that difficult to perform. Note Bene: No where in Article I is there provision for “ pork” or the continuing resolution?
Bottom line? With the exception of the “shutdowns” over the ACA and The Wall “shutdowns” are an “annoying” waste of time and money. Do not fear the “shutdown” embrace them, cherish them. Learn to use them to effect.
How does the House keep getting away with not doing their job and using the “shutdown” to keep on doing what they do best — steal from the public? They do it through a vehicle called the Continuing Resolution — an infuriating topic for another day.
Union, Kentucky
4 October 2023 (Shutdown AVERTED!!!!) insert eye-roll