Tom, while I have back-up plans and have a couple months savings I'm lucky. When we shut down the last time I was single so I didn't have any real bills. Now I would have a chance. The military families are the ones being focussed on but there are a lot of other GS-nothings out there that even with some savings can't last forever without a paycheck, can you? They don't make the decisions, or the rules. At Congress it's the big toys and programs sure, but the poor schmuck in an office somewhere just wants to keep thier job and get a paycheck. Blaming the government for everything is too broad a brush. Its Congress, apppointees with no practical experience, and the President, don't forget that. Most senior leaders in the departments I've met are really smart, hardworking people that want to see thier people succeed and hate wasting people's money. Where the problem is comes from the appointees that may not even know how to spell Intelligence Community, Military, or Criminal Investigation.