The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: philw on October 01, 2013, 08:19:25 AM
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good luck trying to re-start it
FOR the first time in nearly two decades, the US government will shut down after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement over how to fund the country.
The White House budget office will notify federal agencies to cancel all non-essential services, after Congress failed to approve short-term funding measures before the midnight deadline.
It means the jobs of around 800,000 workers will be "furloughed" - a temporary leave of absence due to special circumstances - while international icons like the Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon and Smithsonian Institution will close their doors to the public.
President Obama has told members of the military he will work to get Congress to re-open the government as soon as possible, as the "shutdown will have a very real economic impact on real people, right away."
So how did it come to this?
The US is in this situation because of a seemingly intractable deadlock over policy.
The Democrat-led Senate and Republican led-House have clashed over President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare bill, known as Obamacare. Republicans will only agree to approve a temporary spending bill in exchange for concessions on the healthcare law, which they view as wasteful and oppressive as it requires most Americans to have health insurance.
However despite two votes late on Monday evening US time, they failed to reach a resolution and federal agencies have been notified they should implement plans for a shut down.
It's the first time this has happened in 17 years, forcing about 800,000 people off the job and rattling financial markets around the world.
President Barack Obama said a shutdown would throw a wrench into the gears of US economy. Picture: AP Photo, Pablo Martinez Monsivais Source: AP
How did it get this bad?
In the US, the legislative part of government (as opposed to the President) controls the purse strings. Technically, Congress should have passed a budget to fund the government for the next year on September 30, but recently this has been done in a series of short-term budgets known as "continuing resolutions" which are increasingly used as points of negotiation as the political scene becomes more polarised.
Both sides used the deadline to get their point across - even though parts of the Obamacare plan will be implemented on Tuesday whether the government closes or not.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated the U.S. Senate will not consider the legislation as passed by the House. Picture: Win McNamee, Getty Images. Source: AFP
What does it mean?
The shutdown means all "non-essential staff" - about 800,000 of the total 2.1 million-strong federal workforce - will stay home in a temporary leave of abscence known as a 'furlough.'
Here's how it would affect certain sectors:
• The White House and Congress: Facilities will remain open, although both are likely to lose some staff. Some US lawmakers, like Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, have pledged to return their salaries to the Treasury or donate them to charity.
• Museums and Parks: Smithsonian museums and all 368 sites in the National Park Service system will close.
• National icons: Major national parks like Yellowstone, the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon and Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, home of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, will be off limits.
Plenty of other services will be affected such as clinical research trials, some pension payments, airline complaints, food safety inspections, mortgage processing, even weddings and the Puppy Press Conference will be called off, the Atlantic reports.
What happened last time?
Despite the turmoil, it's not the first time this has happened.
The government shut down for 21 days under President Bill Clinton in mid-December 1995, after he faced off with the Republican-controlled Congress who wanted to limit the growth of Medicare.
The shutdown took the public by surprise and suspended all non-essential services. Patients were not accepted into clinical research trials, calls to disease hotlines went unanswered and there were delays processing firearms licenses and child support cases. Washington was the focus of embarrassment as it stopped garbage collections. Now, Mayor Vincent Gray says he will declare all city employees "essential personnel'' in event of a shutdown, and use a contingency cash reserve fund to pay wages.
Nearly 400 national parks were closed, losing seven million visitors and plenty of revenue for local communities. There were also two million fewer people visiting national monuments and 20,000-30,000 visa applications went unprocessed each day. Federal contractors lost about $18 billion in contract deals and veteran services were also curtailed.
Attractions like the Statue of Liberty would remain closed. Picture: Spencer Platt, Getty Images. Source: AFP
Who else does it affect?
The stock market dropped amid news of the shutdown, though analysts suggested significant damage to the national economy was unlikely unless it lasted more than a few days.
Investors are also keeping themselves braced for an even bigger meltdown on October 17, when the government will face its deadline on the national debt ceiling.
Events in the US are crucial because they are the bedrock that nearly every other investment is built upon, largely due to the assumption that the nation will always pay its debts.
"The concern is government has become so polarised that if it cannot pass (a budget), there's a greater chance that the debt ceiling battle will go to the brink or possibly lead to a default," said Alec Young, global equity strategist with Standard & Poor's Capital IQ.
The last time the debt ceiling had to be negotiated in 2011, Standard & Poor's took the unprecedented step of downgrading the US credit rating.
The brinkmanship has thrown markets into turmoil. Picture: Spencer Platt, Getty Images. Source: AFP
What happens next?
President Obama has addressed the military to tell them he will work to reopen the government as soon as possible.
In a three-minute video in which there was no mention of Republicans, Obama said Congress has not fulfilled its repsonsiblity.
"It has failed to pass a budget and, as a result, much of our government must now shut down until Congress funds it again," he said.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, responded: "The American people don't want a shutdown and neither do I," he said. Yet, he added, the new health care law "is having a devastating impact. ... Something has to be done."
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/business/markets/what-happens-if-the-us-government-shuts-down/story-e6frfm30-1226730724779#ixzz2gTa2Q0e5
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The White House budget office will notify federal agencies to cancel all non-essential services
HEY ASSHOLES!!!!
We're running an annual deficit of billions, a National debt of 17 Trillion and you f**ktards didn't think of this till just now?
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I have read several different stories about this shut down. Now, Kmitch makes an excellent point. Where would we be today if they would have started paring non-essential services years ago? To my main point, none of the stories I have read talk about what Pres. BHO attempted to avoid this. In fact, missing from every rant that blames Republicans and Tea Party for lack of cooperation is the videos and transcripts of Pres. BHO recently stating that he will not negotiate. His stance was give me everything, and shut up!
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The White House budget office will notify federal agencies to cancel all non-essential services
HEY ASSHOLES!!!!
We're running an annual deficit of billions, a National debt of 17 Trillion and you f**ktards didn't think of this till just now?
Had to borrow that thought.
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Actually, "non-essential services" are the things we pay for that the WH is using to screw us (yet again) by denying us access, while maintaining their cushy lifestyles in the WH, Congress, Judicial branch, et al.
I just read a story on Foxnews about a group of Honor Flight vets and their companions pushed through a closed gate and visited the WW2 Memorial. They were aided and abetted by a handful of congressmen, and to their credit, the Park Po-Po did nothing to stop them.
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Is any one here naive enough to think this will shut down Obama's aid to Al Queda in Syria ?
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The sad thing is that even with the government "shutdown" we're still running a deficit.
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If BO had been clever, he'd have shot down the Border Patrol (denying only "legal" commerce from Mexico that builds Chevys, and from China that stocks Wal-Mart and Dollar General shelves, thereby hitting Union employees and those who have to shop cheap to get by, but allowing "Motor Voter" to register floods of Mexicans, drug gangsters and Al Qaeda as Demo(n)crats to vote in 2014)..
Since it's "Republicans" fault anyway..
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I don't think you can count this situation as a "shutdown" given that there are over 70% of government workers still working.
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I don't think you can count this situation as a "shutdown" given that there are over 70% of government workers still working.
Yeah..I see it called a Slimdown in news headlines..and I suspect that most of what is shutdown are the things that will bring the most discomfort to voters rather than stuff we should stop funding.
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Hitler and Tojo couldn't stop them, Obumma sure as hell won't.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/02/Park-Police-Recalled-to-Defend-Memorial-From-Veterans
Exclusive--Park Police Recalled to Defend Memorial From Veterans
On Monday, just hours into a government shutdown, the Park Police tried to block access to the WWII memorial. The memorial, which is basically a landscape feature in a public park, was temporarily cut off from veterans of World War II on a charity mission to see the memorial for the first time. Breitbart News has learned that the federal government specifically activated members of the Park Police to block the veteran's access.
The visit, organized by the charity Honor Flights, which brings WWII veterans to DC to see the memorial to their sacrifice, had been known for some time. The organization had even sought approval from the White House for the visit, in light of the legislative drama over the budget fight. What ought to have been a simple request turned into even greater drama as the federal government actively called up resources to block the veteran visit.
A source on Capitol Hill told Breitbart News exclusively that a Park Police officer told them they were summoned from furlough to police the memorial against the veterans. "They got a call in the early hours Monday," the source told Breitbart News. "They had been furloughed, but were being called up to guard the Memorial."
I can't stress enough how little there is to guard. The WWII Memorial is an open structure on the National Mall, which is, effectively, a public park. Thousands of cars drive past it every day. It is accessible by any pedestrian. There is no "entrance" to close or no access that needs to be monitored. It is literally like walking up to a statue in your local park.
Yet, knowing veterans were coming to visit, the government not only tried to shut off access, it apparently called up furloughed workers to enforce the security. Of a memorial. Against the very people whose sacrifice inspired it.
There is perhaps no greater sign that the federal government is out of touch with the general public. Fortunately, in this case, Rep. Steve King temporarily distracted the Park Police officers and the WWII veterans tore down the barricades.
Once again, America's "greatest generation" has answered to call to lead.
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The POSOTUS sucks.
And I wonder about the Park Police.
If they had any guts they would have bought picnic lunches and refreshments for the Vets.
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That's a pretty big IF
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Is any one here naive enough to think this will shut down Obama's aid to Al Queda in Syria ?
Or to the countries we give millions to in aid, or the Millions of Illegal aliens getting free medical, free school, food stamps etc.
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I'd love to be there and help go against the grain
http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/veterans-plot-to-expand-revolt-against-government-shutdown/ (http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/veterans-plot-to-expand-revolt-against-government-shutdown/)