The Government Shut Down

[scarlettina]

It's happened. It's done. The government is shut down. USAToday offers an excellent Q&A on the whens, whys and wherefores of the situation.

It has been proposed to me that I should think of the federal government shutdown as a little belt-tightening; after all, if we can live without these services for a few days, were they really essential? Here's what's shutting down, in case you're curious:

• Federal occupational safety and health inspectors will stop workplace inspections except in cases of imminent danger.


• No new applications for Social Security will be processed.


• Research by Health and Human services stops.


• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be severely limited in spotting or investigating disease outbreaks, from flu to more serious incidents.


• Food assistance for needy women, children and infants could shut down.


• Veterans appealing the denial of disability benefits to the Board of Veterans Appeals will have to wait longer for a decision because the board will not issue any decisions during the shutdown.


• Head Start programs across the country will close or shut down, stopping educational support for needy kids.
  
• All federal government websites will stop being maintained.


• All National Parks and federally-funded museums, including Smithsonian and the National Zoo--national treasures all--are closed.

And that's not all. There's plenty more. This isn't about belt-tightening. This is about control. It looks more than a little like hostage-taking at the federal level, but who or what is the hostage here? Employee safety, women and children, veterans and seniors. And possibly the good faith and credit of the United States of America at the international level.

Sources:

• CBS News on services affected


• CNN: 66 questions and answers about the federal shutdown


• NY Times on who goes to work and who stays home.

Comments

[twilight2000.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This is really well done!

[doranna durgin (from livejournal.com)]

Belt-tightening that costs a bazillion (150 million if I remember right?) dollars a day...

And here, after years of regular lay-offs in the tech industry and finally finding a good job with good people in the BIA earlier this year, the other of us is now effectively without income again. We don't *need* any more belt-tightening...