Government Shutdown Appears to Be A Go

reply to post by Indigo5

The exemption allows Congressman and staffers to receive employer contributions just like private employees do.

The whole controversy was because the PPACA stopped the 'contributions' ( as you know full well ).

Somebody realized it and *panic* set in with that icy frozen feeling.

Then Obama overrode the law.

Oh, one more brief point:


I think it's ironic, in a really-funny-sorta-painful kind of way, that some conservatives (aka republicans-- okay, not quite synonymous, but enough so for my point) are against stuff like food stamps, and welfare, and talk about entitlement, and how the poor don't deserve to just eat for free....

...and then they turn around and pretty much shut down the government, forcing some government employees (aka soldiers) to....

....wait for it....


....work..... for free.


Talk about "entitlement." lol (now where's that old eye-rolling emoticon when I need it?)

iwilliam

mrsdudara
Thanks to an oil spill, news reporters are not allowed to film or report anything that would cause harm to others or create civil unrest.

You made a really interesting post, with some good points... but can you please elaborate on this one and enlighten us as to what you're referring to?

Sure. Back when the Deepwater horizon oil spill happened April 2010, Admiral Than Allen called for a media blackout for "safety" reasons. They decided that the media should not be allowed to put other people in danger. Coming too close could put people at danger, taking pics and video at a location would cause people to come to the area, if they were upset it could get out of control and could put people in danger. Therefore they were not allowed within 65 feet of the area. The media blackout was so serious that anyone defying the government orders would be fined up to $40,000 and be convicted of a felony if found guilty. The blackout was lifted after a period of time, but it set a precedent for any other situation where the media could put people in danger.

reply to post by iwilliam


Uh, soldiers aren't working for free. A bill was passed on the 30th that exempted military pay, entitlements and benefits from the shutdown.

The folks who will truly be impacted will be civilian employees who may have to resort to unemployment insurance if this goes longer than a few days.

That said, I don't think this is really going to have that great of an impact. We were told that the Sequester would bring our economy to its knees. Economy is still rolling, even with the added burden of a gov't shutdown. Perhaps we'll find out that our gov't is bloated and in need of a diet.

Forgot to add the link to the bill: thomas.loc.gov...:H.R.3210:

I just read about how the shutdown can affect us if it goes on very long. Of course, we all know about the furlows and non-essential services shutting down. Something you may not have known is that the federal background check for firearm purchases is one of the offices shutting down - yikes! So, no gun buying (outside of gun shows and private sellers). No new passports (you ain't leavin').

Government shutdown could affect firearm sales

If it goes on too long, welfare will be affected.

how it will affect poor, jobless and veterans

12 ways it can affect you

The more important thing is how the debt ceiling is affected. From what I understand - we'll reach the debt ceiling around the middle of the month. At that point, if the shutdown is still in effect, the government starts to default on debts. That might be something to be genuinely worried about.

shutdown / debt ceiling

By contrast, failing to lift the debt ceiling could directly hurt a wider swath of the population by, for example, forcing the government to suspend payments to Social Security and Medicare recipients. Without a hike in the debt ceiling, the government would also have to immediately eliminate the $742 billion deficit, a massive hit in spending that dwarfs the $44 billion in sequester cuts that took effect in March. And for the economy at large, hitting the ceiling could in theory cause the government to default on its debts for the first time in U.S. history.

Additionally, the military has some "exercises" planned for - right now (exercises start at 4:23):



So, lots of resources to be delivered by October 1st (today). Exercises beginning on, or compassing today.

IMHO, some $#!+ is about to go down.

The Shutdown is political theater at it's best.Both sides get to play the hero and the people buy it hook,line and sinker.How ironic that they made sure the shutdown won't effect their pay.

reply to post by stormcell


George Washington: "What you off shored jobs?
Todays government: "Yes it made us billions."
George Washington: "So where are all those africans I left you?"

I don't think it will have a huge impact as most important services are state government and it's only "non-essential" federal government services that have been affected. To pass a balanced budget they would have to shut down a lot more than this. That is the bigger problem as with current revenues the US government can't even afford "essential" services without having to borrow and next up is the battle in congress to raise the debt ceiling. If the debt ceiling isn't raised and government can't find a way to operate on the revenue it takes in via taxes while also repaying interest on money already borrowed than the only other option is a default on the debt commitments.

The essential federal government employs will EVENTUALLY COLLECT retroactively the hours they put in during the government shutdown. The non-essential employs might also get paid if congress agrees that they should.

I think only the ones that work during the government shutdown should get paid.

Many think that since government shuts down there is economising going on, but this is not the case.

Isnt president, vp, congress still working? These elected officials are playing high stakes poker without really knowing how to play correctly. Lots of bluffing going on. Lets see who backs down and who losses the most.

In a way I am glad that TP is forcing the issue regardless how far it goes. Obamacare should be fought! Mandatory private insurance at expensive rates is not the same with nationalised healthcare provided by other countries, not to mention 20k pages of confusion which is impossible to be efficient. Small business stands to lose too much during this prolonged recession. If the times were different perhaps I would be ok with it.

reply to post by haarvik


Who racked up most of that debt? Good old "W" with his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. NOT the Democrats. NOT President Obama.

Democrats in Congress have voted for reasonable cuts in government spending; just not cuts that will hurt the average American who is struggling just to get by.

I have to wonder... A while ago some very respectable men in finance put out a warning that this fall hell was going to break loose. They said that the spending had not been curbed and the only reason things were looking good was because the federal reserve had agreed to keep the interest rates low for a time. It was part of the stimulus package that came out. The said that as soon as they brought the interest rates back up and it hit 4% we would default because we would not be able to afford the interest rate let alone touch the principal. At which point our currency would loose its reputation and no longer be accepted as the main currency on the global markets. At which point our dollars would have to be backed by something not just IOU notes. It hit 4% the end of August I believe. Stock market went down and in September people held their breath. I was hoping it was all bunk, but now.... I have to wonder if the government wasn't going to shut down regardless and are just covering their a$$es while trying to figure out who is going to take the blame instead of fixing things. REALLY hope I'm wrong and those financial guys were just fear mongering.

Sestias
reply to post by haarvik

 

Who racked up most of that debt? Good old "W" with his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. NOT the Democrats. NOT President Obama.

Democrats in Congress have voted for reasonable cuts in government spending; just not cuts that will hurt the average American who is struggling just to get by.

Please tell us more about your inaccurate condemnations.

Obama has "racked up" more debt during his unfinished presidency than Bush did during his 8 years.

Ask the "just to get by" people how much their life has improved over the last 5 years. I know plenty, and not much has changed.

And here we are again in 2020 with the Senate unable to vote on a bill in time to meet the midnight deadline.
Unusual amount of disagreement this time so they may have to wait till next year anyways.

a reply to: Slichter

I believe they just extended it for two days.

Shut it down !

Shut down the whole damn thang 😎

a reply to: 38181

The Senate web cam states no vote tonight.

a reply to: Slichter

Come on man!

www.cnn.com...

Hey Rocky. Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!

Stimulus check update: Congress passes 2-day bill to avoid shutdown as COVID relief talks continue

myfox8.com...

a reply to: 38181

No floor activity at the Senate how did they pass this?
And they dropped the Saturday morning session at 11 AM?

a reply to: Phage

Oh to be in congress.



What a gig