Today marks almost a month of the government shutdown. All operations of the US government, including spending money, are frozen until Congress agrees on a budget. But… What does that really mean? Let’s break it down.
What exactly is happening in Washington, D.C.?
This isn’t the first time the US government has gotten stuck in a stalemate. In this specific situation, the Democratic party is hoping to see an extension of expiring tax credits which in this case would extend Obama Care, making health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. Currently, the majority of seats in both the Senate and the House are held by Republicans. The issue, though, is that despite having a majority, Republicans are still 60 votes short from being able to pass their spending plan. No spending plan means… no spending. October 1st the US government stopped all operations and is no longer allowed to spend any money until the House of Representatives and the Senate come to a conclusion.
What Does This Mean For Government Employees?
Funding is at a halt; government workers can’t be paid. There are two different types of people that work for the government. There are accepted workers, which consists of employees that are expected to work without pay until the shutdown is over. This includes police officers, air traffic controllers, emergency services, tax specialists, etc. Any job that is considered something we cannot live without. At the end of the shutdown they will get all the money they worked for, no questions asked. But the real issue is the uncertainty for all of these people. In the meantime many people don’t know where they will get their income. The other type of workers is furloughed employees; these are the workers that are placed on unpaid leave until the government reopens and they are typically guaranteed to be paid back fully as well. But there are issues with this, this time around the new interpretation of the law stating this, and there is uncertainty about each of them keeping their jobs.
How does it affect other Americans?
When government officials don’t get paid, government agencies struggle to keep working. Things like social security or tax refunds get delayed. This would be because there is nobody in office to take control of these things. It can hurt the economy a lot too because it slows down government work and services. The last government shutdown happened in December 2018 and lasted until January 2019. This cost the US economy at least $11 billion. People aren’t getting paid, therefore people buy less stuff, and then companies lose money. This chain of events adds up quickly and overall negatively affects many.
All this over a budget? Not quite…
Government shutdowns can actually work as negotiating tactics between political parties. In certain situations the parties may refuse to agree on a spending plan in order to get closer to having their needs met. When one side decides that what they are asking is not something they are willing to let go of, they may threaten the government shutdown to push the other side to make a negotiation quickly. And in some cases, this does work because the shutdown is problematic and they want to avoid it.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know when this will all be over or when things will be a little more normal but here are a few things that you can look for when it comes to the end of the government shutdown: watching for the agreement on the budget deal, workers going back to work, and many people beginning to get paid again.
