How's the US Government Shutdown Affecting You?


Chart: Keith Collins, Jennifer Daniel and Karen Yourish/The New York Times

So. The government of the United States of America, the world's largest superpower, has shut down due to political bickering between the Republicans and the Democrats largely over Obamacare.

You didn't need us to tell you that. That much you already know.

The topic, as you'd expect, is everywhere on the news and Internet. But we'd like to know how this government shutdown - the first in 17 years (the last one was back in 1995 and 1996 when Newt Gingrich-led Congress feuded with President Clinton) - affected you. Government shutdowns are quite rare, and the last time it happened it wasn't as doom-and-gloom as people thought it would be.

But that doesn't mean that the shutdown does not have terrible effects on some people. How about for you? Does the US government shutdown affect you badly? In what ways?

Does the US Government Shutdown Affect You?




I guess I'm lucky at this point. I'll be traveling out of the country soon, but at least I already have my passport and will be driving so I don't have to worry about potential airport delays. But I'll have to see if there are any hiccups on the return if the border station has any reduced staffing.

And although the project I am employed by is federally funded, I am a university employee and our project has a budget surplus. If I did get "sent home" I would probably still be in the lab working unless they forced me out, because stuff still needs to get done (as seems to be the policy on furlough days from the state government). Friends at national labs and other places vary from annoyed to now dealing with potentially large extra expenses associated with messed up schedules or pausing work.
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I'm not an American, so this is just an outsider's opinion. I don't understand how anyone thinks it does not affect them. Maybe not today, but it will in the long run. Is your government representative getting paid during this "furlough"? Is it possible to find candidates for office that are there to do their job, not there to keep their job?
Not like politics are all rosy here either:(
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I'm affected in two ways by the shutdown: as a VA workstudy, I'm locked out of the office so I can't earn money (half my income) or put hundreds of veterans' paperwork in order for them to complete college degrees and/or job training. I'm also a participant in the VA's Voc Rehab program, so if the shutdown lasts through the end of October, I get no stipend (the other half of my income) and my program may come to a halt.

A government shutdown doesn't hit everyone immediately, but it if stretches out, you'll feel a hit at some point. Sort of a trickle down thing.
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