Federal government shutdown may be inevitable

[웃 910]

I read it and didn't see anything of importance. Passport applications going unprocessed and

national parks shutting down, big whoop. Is keeping them going worth $1.5 trillion dollars?

That is 30 billion per state.

Maybe we can give $1 billion per state and then the bigger (and more important) states can get 2 or 3 billion a piece?

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

The author seems to be obsessed with scrota.

I think he's obsessed with himself. Little India?

Kinda musty for sure.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Col. Lingus

[Zero Sum 305]

I know this may be hard to believe, but most large corporations pay more taxes in a month than you will in your entire life.

The next time someone wants to bash a 'wealthy' person or a 'corporation' they'd do well to remember that.

This is a perfect example of an argument that is not really relevant to the point that was being made, but thanks anyway for pointing out the obvious.

I read it and didn't see anything of importance. Passport applications going unprocessed and

national parks shutting down, big whoop. Is keeping them going worth $1.5 trillion dollars?

Don't add Visa petitions and Status Adjustments in the serious areas of this forum to this list or you'll get in some serious trouble with those in wait.

[mawilson 2,133]

Don't add Visa petitions and Status Adjustments in the serious areas of this forum to this list or you'll get in some serious trouble with those in wait.

I waited almost a year for my K-1 (8 months for the CSC approval and 4 months Embassy)

and another 2 years for the I-485. These days people get approved much quicker -

a few more months won't kill them.

[Zero Sum 305]

Fair enough, but I could imagine someone that already went through the ropes to explain tough luck to those at the end of the line. Would you do this with a smile?

[tru_loves_journey 117]

I read it and didn't see anything of importance. Passport applications going unprocessed and

national parks shutting down, big whoop. Is keeping them going worth $1.5 trillion dollars?

big whoop???? Passport applications going unprocessed, Yea that's a Very Big Whoop to Me and i'm sure to many others

[EAbbas 213]

big whoop???? Passport applications going unprocessed, Yea that's a Very Big Whoop to Me and i'm sure to many others

Yeah to us too...we've waited 2 yrs to be together and we are on the next journey after applying for CR1 and counting so yeah..it is a big deal...you guys already have yours adn your with your loved ones so of course you don't care much about what happens to us..but we care about those who have already waited years and still waiting and those who just joined the journey...and we will still care long after we are reunited ...because we know what it feels like to wait and long to be with your spouse or fiance...

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

As we see in Wisconsin, Democrats are willing to shut down the government and flee the country in order to get their way. This is why they are are called "the Party of NO"

I think we need to build the border fence...FAST!

[tru_loves_journey 117]

Yeah to us too...we've waited 2 yrs to be together and we are on the next journey after applying for CR1 and counting so yeah..it is a big deal...you guys already have yours adn your with your loved ones so of course you don't care much about what happens to us..but we care about those who have already waited years and still waiting and those who just joined the journey...and we will still care long after we are reunited ...because we know what it feels like to wait and long to be with your spouse or fiance...

Well Said

[mawilson 2,133]

big whoop???? Passport applications going unprocessed, Yea that's a Very Big Whoop to Me and i'm sure to many others

You don't have a passport?

[tru_loves_journey 117]

A CRS study provided the following examples of reported impacts on the public at large of the 1995 shutdown:

• no new patients were accepted into clinical research trials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• NIH disease hotlines were closed
• the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stopped disease surveillance
• toxic waste clean-up work at more than 600 sites was stopped
• delays in processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
• work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases was suspended
• cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal law-enforcement officials, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents
• delay in the processing of delinquent child-support cases
• closure of 368 National Park Service sites, with an estimated loss of 7 million visitors and accompanying tourism revenues to local communities
• closure of national museums and monuments, with an estimated loss of 2 million visitors
• approximately 20,000-30,000 visa applications by foreigners unprocessed each day
• 200,000 applications for passports unprocessed
• U.S. tourism industries and airlines reportedly sustaining millions of dollars in lost revenues
• multiple services for military veterans were halted, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel
• approximately $3.7 million of Washington. DC-area federal contracts were adversely affected

Perhaps the biggest concern of the general public when a government shutdown is being discussed is the effect on entitlement programs. According to the CRS, "although the funds needed to make payments to beneficiaries may be available automatically, pursusant to permanent appropriations, the payments may be processed by employees who are paid with funds provided in annual appropriations acts. In such cases, the question arises whether a mandatory program can continue to function during a funding gap, if appropriations were not enacted to pay salaries of administering employees."

The Situation in 2011

The possibility of another government shutdown is looming in light of fierce ideological differences over how to address looming budget deficits and rapidly rising federal government debt. Whether and how to address entitlement spending, particularly for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, are topics of intense debate, along with issues concerning defense spending and proposed investments in education, energy, and technology.

Many who recall the federal government shutdown of 1995 are wondering whether 2011 will see repeat of that classic government showdown. According to USA Today columnist Chuch Raasch, "There are fundamental differences between 1995-96 and now [2011] that weigh on Obama's position. The budget is in far worse shape, and the economy is in a more tepid recovery from a far deeper recession than in the '90s." Raasch goes on to report that in 1995, the deficit was $164 billion, representing 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP). However, in 2010, the deficit was $1.3 trillion, 8.4% of that year's GDP. The stakes have gotten much higher in very high-stakes game of political chicken.

[Zero Sum 305]

Since its settled it won't be a big deal, then go for it.

[mawilson 2,133]

in 1995, the deficit was $164 billion, representing 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP). However, in 2010, the deficit was $1.3 trillion, 8.4% of that year's GDP.

Imagine that - they shut down the government in 1995 over $164 billion, which today amounts to a rounding error on an hour's worth of spending in Washington, DC. Ok, maybe a bit more than that, but you get my point.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Fair enough, but I could imagine someone that already went through the ropes to explain tough luck to those at the end of the line. Would you do this with a smile?

Seems to me we sere told that the fees we pay for such things, including passports, pay the expenses. I would imagine those areas of the government would not be shut down.

Raise your hand if you still want the government running your health care.