Government Down

Well they've done it again.  Republican's have shut down the government.  The politics of this year seem to be so extreme, and there's nothing like a physical shut down of the government like this to bring the point home.  My favorite quote was shared on twitter by Chris Hall "America was not shut down properly.  Would you like to start America in safe mode with free health care and without the guns?  (Recommended)"
Here's an article from my friend Justin Sesek who posted this on Facebook this week.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN AND YOU!

Well it happened...an agreement was not reached and the federal government has been shut down. What does this mean? Oh just these things below. But don't worry, it's no big deal really...

1. The Centers for Disease Control is stopping its flu vaccination program. And monitoring the country for infectious outbreaks the way they do now when they discover random eruptions of a staph infection in New Hampshire or a strain of E.Coli traced to a Chili's in Tacoma. Nothing huge there; the only thing that those worthless bureaucrats at the CDC ever did was discover AIDS.

2. Benefits to spouses of deceased military members are stopping. Did your grandpa liberate Paris and Antwerp from the Nazis and die five years ago? Good thing Social Security is paid from a separate fund and thus unaffected so your widowed grandmother isn't eating Purina.

3. National Parks are closed. You have 48 hours to leave if you're in one. So is the Smithsonian. And the White House. And Alcatraz. And the Statue of Liberty. Good thing summer vacation is over.

4. Applications for certain firearms are not being processed since the ATF is on skeleton crew (Oh look at that Tea Party...this shutdown you all cheered for affects things you care about too!)

5. The US Forest service has to lay off firefighters. Screw them...it's not like it's still fire season and the whole western U.S. was a giant cloud of smoke all summer so bad that it made Mexico City look like a glacier in Northern Canada. Oh wait.

6. Almost no staff at the Department of State is slowing down passport applications for Americans wanting to travel and visa applications for foreign nationals trying to enter the country. The estimated 30,000 unprocessed visas a day turn into 30,000 less airplane tickets purchased by people who now can't enter the U.S. That's cool though (some were probably Socialists or something). The Airline Industry has certainly not turned nickel-and-diming consumers into a science to the point there will soon be coin slots on the lavatory doors and a fee to exit the plane through the gate vs. jumping onto the runway. I'm sure the airlines will just eat all that lost revenue and not take the millions of dollars they lose and pass it on to their passengers ("Ladies and gentleman American Airlines welcomes you to your non-stop flight from JFK to Chicago O'Hare. In just a moment the flight staff will be coming through the aisles offering seat-belts for a one-time charge of $179.95. In the event of a loss of pressure oxygen masks are complimentary for our first class and business travelers.")

7. While we're now slowing down on people legally entering the country and getting work permits, we can just cancel that out since employers can no longer use the national E-Verify screening system to determine if a potential employee is legally in the country or not.

8. OSHA will no longer be inspecting factories and workplaces for violations aside from a rare one here and there. Same with the people from the FAA who inspect airports to make sure that nice United Airlines mechanic is not duct-taping a wing flap back on. And the FDA, half of whose staff is now not working, is not inspecting food plants as much for the Salmonella outbreak that the CDC now won't catch (see #1). You've seen what slaughterhouses look like; imagine no one checking to make sure they aren't throwing contaminated chicken parts with tumors in with the good stuff. Maybe the food poisoning you get at Chick Fil-A will get you sent home from work before the ceiling collapses or you breathe in enough asbestos to get Mesothelioma.

9. The EPA shuts down. No one monitoring the air or water. No big deal. It's such a hassle for companies to have to dispose of their waste in a method that doesn't involve dumping it in the closest river.

10. The Federal Program that provides assistance to poor people for heating their homes will stop providing help in approximately a month. You know, in November. Florida? Meh whatevs. Minnesota or Maine? Don't worry you can just disassemble rooms in your house for firewood one at at time.

11. So does the program that provides nutrition assistance to poor women with infant children (WIC). That's fine though too; small children don't need socialist liberal hippie things like calcium or Vitamin B or whole grain in their diets--that sounds way too French. Cool Ranch Doritos and Pepsi--Breakfast of Champions!

12. Student loans and pell grants are going to be delayed since the Department of Education on a federal level is pretty much non-existant. Because doing your FAFSA wasn't a huge enough pain in the ass already.

13. As soon as Washington barrels through its rainy day reserve the District of Columbia will only be allowed to provide three city services: police, firefighting, and EMS. No street cleaners. No libraries. And in addition to the estimated $200 million in economic activity the city loses each day the government is shut down, Washington will not have trash removal. Nothing like the capital of the world's most powerful country covered in overflowing dumpsters.

14. Over 800,000 Federal employees are being told to stay home unpaid until further notice. So are 400,000 civilian employees contracted to the Department of Defense. Imagine all the money they would be getting paid now not being spent in coffee shops and grocery stores and local businesses. It will ricochet outward as people cancel their vacations and stop eating out and run behind on their car payments and cancel their pay tv services and have their cell phones shut off. That's gotta be awesome for the economy.

15. VA hospitals will still provide medical care for those eligible but you can expect weeks-long delays for disability checks for veterans. It's fine though.. soldiers who volunteered to leave their families to get shipped to a desert and jumped on a grenade probably get spoiled with all that food and shelter.

But don't worry, the member of Congress who represents you in Washington is still collecting their $174,000 a year salary.

Switchboard to the U.S. Capitol is (202) 224-3121 if you'd like to chat with them about...anything.