Author of What to Eat When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
Another year, another looming government shutdown.
While part of me says, “Hey, don’t threaten ME with a good time,” the nicer part is concerned for the Americans who will be affected by this.
For example, essential government workers will still be on the job, but without pay. And in this economy, who on earth can afford that?
Anyway, this is really out of our hands, like so much lately. It’s all down to the folks who are tasked with “representing” us in Washington, DC. They’ve reached a short-term stopgap that funds the government through the month of October and half of November (and offers 6 billion dollars to Ukraine), but the threat is far from over.
Here’s who would be affected by a government shutdown.
Here, as per Reuters, is what and who would be affected should Congress not come to an agreement by November 17th.
- As for the question on everyone’s mind, the US government will still pay the salaries of thousands…of Ukrainians.
- Two million members of the military will remain at their posts, but 800,000 civilian employees of the military would be furloughed. But that’s not all. Defense contracts awarded prior to the shutdown will continue. The Pentagon can keep placing new orders. But new contracts not directly related to national security would not be awarded and payments to contractors like RTX (formerly Ratheon), Boeing, and Lockheed Martin could be delayed.
- Federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and the DEA would remain at work, as would employees of federal prisons. Criminal federal prosecutions would continue (Sorry, President Trump) but civil federal litigations would be paused.
- Border Patrol officers, Secret Service agents, customs officers, and members of the Coast Guard can expect to keep working. Folks who work for the FTC would most likely be furloughed.
- Federal courts and the Supreme Court can remain open for a few more weeks.
- Unsurprisingly, members of Congress will continue to get paid, though their staff will not. Despite the missing paychecks, staffers will be required to still come to work.
- Airport security screeners and air traffic control workers would be required to work but may not be paid. Training for new air traffic controllers would be halted.
- Embassies and consulates will continue to operate and passports and visas will continue to be processed (at least until they run out of money).
- Reuters says it’s unclear whether national parks will remain open or not. Wildfire fighting will continue.
- The Smithsonian and National Zoo would close.
- Research would be halted at the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as most of their workers would be furloughed.
- NASA will continue to support the International Space Station, but other work would cease as about 17,000 of its 18,300 employees would be furloughed.
- About half of the employees of the CDC would be furloughed, though the organization would continue to monitor disease outbreaks.
- The VA would continue to provide healthcare for veterans.
- Health care for Native Americans would continue.
- Inspections for hazardous waste sites, drinking water facilities, and chemical facilities would cease, as would food safety inspections by the FDA.
- The SEC would furlough 90% of its employees and the CFTC would furlough nearly everyone.
- As an important reminder that these organizations are NOT part of the government but instead privately funded by the industries they “regulate,” The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would continue operations as normal.
- Retirement and disability payments through the Social Security Administration would continue.
- Military veteran’s payments will continue.
- Food assistance such as SNAP and WIC would be discontinued. SNAP has enough money for October, but WIC would cease immediately. (But who cares about hungry kids? At least our members of Congress will get paid, right?)
- Sadly, the IRS will operate as normal.
- FEMA will run out of money SOON, particularly if an emergency strikes during the shutdown.
- Pell Grants and students loans will initially be doled out, but a lengthy shutdown could “severely curtail” aid to schools and universities. Funds due later in the year could be delayed.
- The Army Corps of Engineers would continue to operate as normal.
- Head Start programs for children from low-income families would cease.
- The Small Business Association wouldn’t be processing new loans.
- Meat and egg inspections would continue, but labs would be shut down. Crop insurance would continue, but rural development, loan programs, research efforts, and conservation efforts would be shut down.
- Inspections of workplace safety would be limited and unfair pay practice investigations would cease.
- The US Postal Service would operate as normal.
According to Reuters, the President would face some inconvenience but would still be paid.
In the 2018-2019 shutdown, the White House furloughed 1,100 of 1,800 staff in the Executive Office of the President. Some offices, such as the National Security Council, continued at full strength, while others like the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were scaled back sharply.
White House furloughs could make it harder to comply with the impeachment investigation of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, by Republicans in the House of Representatives.
The U.S. Constitution specifies that the president continues to get paid.
And there you have it: the government shutdown in a nutshell.
As usual, the people who will really suffer are the ones who are struggling the most already and everyday people just trying to earn a paycheck. Those who have money and power will continue to have money and power. The theater of it is to make average people suffer to prove how much we “need” the government.
The stop-gap funding gives you about six weeks to prepare for any disruptions you may personally face.
What are your thoughts? Will you or anyone you know be affected by the shutdown if it happens? Do you have a contingency plan for it? How long do you predict a shutdown would last this time around?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
An older brother of mine is a GS..something.. on a big AFB. He’s in charge of handing out buffer pads to contractors, I guess. He’s going to be ok. I love him, but he’s going to treat being furloughed like a chance to take a mini unpaid vacation. Been encouraging him for years to prep but.. you know how that can go. He’s told me directly that “the government can’t function without us. It’s just politics and it’ll never last long”. Okey-dokey.
Daisy, over a year ago you were offering a complete archive on SD card flash drive. Are you still offering that? Has it been updated to include the last year+ of articles? I been plowing through archive search and, it probably me, but I can’t find the offering. I’d really like to make that purchase if it’s still a go.
Thanks
My daughter who is stationed in the UK just told us that they were told if the govt shuts down they will be required to show up but they won’t be getting paid.
One retired son told us during Trumps term when they shut down that he was paid but his funds were reduced.
Doesn’t the govt always threaten this??
The budget resolution forced by the Romper Room Caucus cuts aid to the poor, including veterans, by an horrific sum. Granted the budget needs to be put on a more sustainable footing, but is this really the way? Desperate people do desperate things and paranoid minds might think that our government is deliberately pushing people into desperation. They of course will be surrounded by armed guards.
-1M children lose food help
-20K vets & 300K families lose housing aid
-60K seniors lose Meals on Wheels
-80% cut to low-income schools
-70% cut to home heating assistance heading into winter
I am of the belief that none of those programs should be under the federal government. Those all should be provided by the individual states for their citizens. I also believe that not one penny should be given to the illegals nor should their children be given free education. In Texas alone we are spending 5 billion on illegal’s education. That money should be to help the citizens.
I agree!
Yes.
Don’t think we ought to fund Ukraine, either.
METTE: As I understand all this, the purpose of the Biden Administration was to allow as many thousands as possible of migrants to enter the USA so they could take care of them and basically just forget about us Americans and our children and parents. We are now to be second class citizens while all of the ones that are here from Mexico get the red-carpet treatment or at least get a taste of what that is like. You understand me? They (the U.S. Gov.) do NOT seem to care about its own citizens… Is this a shame or not????? Something is definitely wrong with this picture!!! Will they be allowed to vote? Absolutely… Who will they vote for? Hummm, 64 thousand dollar question!
My comment is only one original comment. There was NO duplicate comment…
@Mette: I’m pretty certain that at least 90% of Americans feel the same! I sure do.
That’s disgraceful. Thank you for sharing this information.
These are the things that should NOT be cut at all. Instead why aren’t we cutting out pay for Congress and defense contractors who are rolling in money?
Exactly! Why is our nation’s wealth not being administered for the good of its people? Whom does this serve?
It serves the Globalists.
Looks like it serves anybody who is able to sneak in this country or now just manage to get over the river and then walk in and they matter. IF you are NOT one of the, you don’t matter (sorry to say)… You’re just some number!!! Just another soul that may be an American but won’t be treated as one…
Both my husband and I are retired military. My husband gets social security, so we will be okay. I think Congress should not get paid. I remember an incident many years ago in Germany. A soldiers pay was messed up and he did not get paid for several months. He could not even buy a razor to shave. No one in his chain cared. Not until he got up and dressed in his uniform, but instead of going to work, he laid in his bunk. The superiors tried to give him an article 15 (punishment), but JAG refused to let it fly. Instead, they had to go to the finance and get his pay straighten out. JAG said he was not required to work if he did not get paid.
Actually, it is a paid vacation. All of those people will get paid for the time missed as soon as they go back to work. And the government will help them with an interest-free loan until they get paid.
Also, those who are essential and go to work DO GET PAID, they are NOT working without pay.
To me, what was shocking about the last government shut down, was how many of government employees were only two paychecks from missing car payments, mortgage payments, phone bills etc.
Thing is, these were not so low level employees. I used to work with these people. They had 2,400sqft homes in planned communities in the sub-burbs, drove two nice cars, dined out two or three times a week and ordered in the other times.
Imagine how much worse off they are now.
All government workers and Ukrainians may miss a paycheck for now but will be paid in full when the new budget is passed. The only people that will be harmed by any shutdown is the American taxpayer.
Shut the entire place down and no one gets paid ever for the time the place is closed. That should include all members of Congress. Balance the budget before reopening.
Of course, the above is just my dream of a functioning government that used to exist in America.
Ukraine will not miss any “paychecks.”
They will be paid no matter what.
Doubt the folks in Hawaii will get their $700, but rest assured, Ukraine shall be paid!
I agree! American citizens who got burned out of their homes get a lousy $700 once, while illegal aliens get $2200 monthly and zelensky gets literally billions.
Each state should bring to a vote how we want OUR tax money spent. Near the top of the list would be a pay cut for congress and the senate.
1. Everyone will get paid. They might miss a paycheck or two, which is terrible I know (we are all of us living much closer to the edge these days). But they’ll be paid when this is over.
2. I don’t know why there is this hostility on the far right to muscular help for Ukraine to defend its own country from thuggish invaders. Yes, Ukraine has been far more corrupt in the past but they are significantly cleaning up their act (did you see Sunday’s 60 Minutes? They can now show a trail of where our armaments go and end up better than we can with ours.) You think Russia is some kind of non-corrupt paradise? I’m serious. Please explain it to me. Is it about that Russia was Trump’s “friend,” while Zelensky wouldn’t budge on digging up dirt on the Bidens for Trump? Which, remember, let to the orange grifter’s first impeachment. Is that the reason? Some of you are history buffs, so think about Europe leading up to WWI and WWII. You have to nip bullies in the bud and push back HARD or else, as the children’s book says, “if you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll only want a glass of milk.” Ukrainians aren’t asking for our soldiers to go in there. They just want to defend themselves. This money we spend to arm Ukraine and keep them afloat is one of the best investments this country’s ever made. The libtard Senator Lindsey Graham said so in the 60 minutes interview. We can’t possibly end this conflict, if it can be ended, any more cheaply or with zero loss of American armed forces. If Putin succeeds, Moldova, Lithuania, all kinds of places are next. I know enough about this to want to do almost anything we can before he can spread his invasion around, to prevent it.
3. If there is suffering, as in children and old people losing food, housing, heating assistance, etc., blame it on the republicans. They’re the author of this. MTG, Boebert, Gaetz, Jordan, McCarthy, all of them. I understand that there are places our budget needs to be cutting (and believe me, cutting the salaries of all of congress and the president and their staff would overall be less than a drop in the bucket). But this blunt instrument, that causes real suffering to real ordinary people, and is used to play chicken and ends up causing real damage to our credit rating and standing in the world, is unconscionable. Pick an issue and debate it with a related bill. Stop threatening to starve or freeze kids and old folks just to make your political point.
4. Yes, I know a lot of government employees, state and federal. For some unfathomable reason, everyone thinks we make all kinds of great money, benefits, etc. That may have been true in some places in the past, but government for the middle class mid level person has been hollowed out just like it has for everyone else. We used to get fully paid medical insurance and a fully paid for pension. That went away about 15 years ago. The bargain we had made was in return for pathetically low salaries, far FAR less than we could make in the private sector, we got free health insurance and a fully paid for pension. They took that away… without any additional salary. Just a “be happy you have a job.” I went 8 years in a row working for the state without ONE CENT more of a raise. At the same time they took away some benefit every year. And for people in mid-career like I was then, it wasn’t a serious option to go back to the private sector. So yeah, government employees have it just as hard as everyone else. We’re struggling too.
The average salary + compensation amount for federal employees is $143,643. “One reason workers favor federal employment is that the benefits are more lucrative than in the private sector. The BEA data show that the average value of benefits in the federal workforce was $44,021 in 2021, far higher than the $13,486 of average benefits in the private workforce.” https://www.fedsmith.com/2022/10/28/average-federal-employee-salaries-with-benefits/
You brought up partisan politics. I was a Democrat for a long time. I’ve now been a Republican for over 30 years and I’ve been poor or just-barely-not-poor for a good deal of
my life and I know this for sure: the Democrats don’t give a crap about the poor, the elderly, the truly vulnerable, the veterans and the military until the federal budget rolls around. Then they’re out there posturing and wringing their hands and wailing about taking food out of the babies mouths, about veterans starving, ad nauseam.
Feel sorry for federal employees? Not me, not for one single second. The federal government is WAY too large and draining this country dry.
As far as Ukraine goes, their federal government is even worse than ours, their president as least as bad as xiden. They don’t care about their own citizens; elections have been suspended, the media heavily censored and freedom of religion removed. Just what exactly are you defending about the war?
Cry me a river about your job. I don’t care. You have incredible job security – completely the opposite of the private sector and you knew that when you applied for the job.
You’ve leapt to a number of conclusions here that sound a lot like MSNBC or CNN talking points.
Nobody is making any statements about the justice or injustice of the war in Ukraine. I’m irate however that our children and elderly may go without while we send billions to another country. This is their war, not ours. We have record hunger, record poverty, and record inflation. We need to deal with our own problems before sending money elsewhere.
I’m not a Republican and haven’t been for 30 years. I’m also not a Democrat. It’s ridiculous to blame one party over another. It’s same feces, different sphincter. They’re all horrible and don’t deserve to be paid when other people are suffering and unpaid because of their inability to make policies that can be agreeable to the majority.
I totally agree about Ukraine. Better to stop Putin there than have our own country pounded into the Stone Age, as Ukraine has been. I find it noteworthy that Ukrainians, who have lived under Russian rule, would rather die than do so again. Those suggesting that Russia is our friend and we should abandon Ukraine are simply, tragically, wrong. Media personalities suggesting this should be investigated as foreign agents.
Also, I wouldn’t put it past the Romper Room Caucus to be punishing Ukraine for their (non)role in Trump’s first impeachment. He’s developed quite the cult of personality, unfortunately, which may well account for why people are supporting a criminally insane lunatic facing 91 felony charges. It definitely speaks to character though. And who’s shoving the choice between him and a doddering old fool down our throats? There are several better Republican candidates to choose from.
Interesting to hear that mid-level government employees don’t get the benefits anymore as you’ve described. Our state and local municipalities just got their 4% COLA raises. Perhaps that’s not true at the federal level. It’s certainly not an option in the private sector. I recently had 5 weeks off for the first time in 15 years and since I’m self-employed, I receive no back pay. I worked on my pantry, bringing in my garden harvest and wasting nothing. Good luck to all of you. I think we’re going to need it.
Thanks, Jayne. I should have been more specific. I work for the state of Florida, where the AVERAGE salary is even now, in 2023, less than $40k. And in my position I am what is called “select exempt,” which is NOT career service protected from arbitrary firing. They could fire me tomorrow for wearing the wrong colored shoes and there wouldn’t be a thing I could do about it. So, no job security. And yes, we went 8 years with no raises. I knew in this job I’d never be wealthy but I did mind very much being made poorer every year. Way back in the early 90s when I had to decide, hmmm, work for a law firm, make serious money, and have no life, or work for the state, make laughable bank (my first state job as an attorney in 1999 I made just over $28k for the year… $2k less than I made as a public school teacher back in 1991), but have a guaranteed pension that I didn’t have to pay into and fully 100% paid health insurance. That was the deal we made. And starting with Lord Voldemort (Rick Scott) they took back those things that caused me and many others to zig when they should have, in retrospect, zagged. We used to have twice our salary in life insurance paid by the state. Now it’s a flat $25k. I could go on and on. I’m not asking for anyone to feel sorry that, after 26 years with the state, I can’t go back and make a different choice as I believed the promised made to me. I just want people to understand that not all government jobs are alike and not all the benefits and security are outsize. Here in Floridastan they must think that we live on air. And, btw, if FEDERAL government employees are making that kind of money? $143/k etc? That’s egregious and should be stopped posthaste. But I’d want to know what the secretaries and receptionists and janitors who work for the feds are making. Not everyone makes that kind of money, even in the federal government.
Fascinating Lorraine. I work for a law firm in Miami (remote) that pays exceedingly more than the state rate you mentioned, requires 185 hrs/month (46.25 hours/week which is obviously 6.25 hours more than what some might want to do vs 40 hours…but not offensive), fully paid health insurance, matching retirement, unlimited vacay, etc etc etc. Obviously there are firms that work their people into the ground but not all are like that and with the pressing need for experienced professionals in that arena, it’s difficult to understand why some would make certain career choices.
I hope I’m not offending. I’m just truly surprised.
If you really think risking WWIII and nuclear war is a good investment, then go and enlist yourself. If Russia or China wanted to shut down our grid with a EMP attack or cyber attack they could have for the past some 10 years (source: Lights Out by Ted Koppel).
The war in the Ukraine is but a small part in a much larger fight.
Putin saw weakness in the US with the disastrous withdraw from Afghanistan. So did the rest of the world. Our enemies and our friendemies have been looking for a moment to pivot way from the US for a long time. The US has used the dollar reserve currency to impose US foreign policy against everyone, friend and foe alike. They are tired of it. That is why the BRICS, come Jan12024 will become BRICS 11 with the addition of other countries, some of which we call “allies.” BRICS have been laying the ground work for an alternative banking system to SWIFT for years. That just accelerated with Bidens disastrous proxy war with Russia. All Russia has to do is hold what territory they have and watch the US throw more and more money and weapons at a failed Ukraine counter offensive. It only weakens the US.
Meanwhile China is looking at this as a grand opportunity to take Taiwan. Do not be surprised if China uses a EMP, cyber attack on the grid or even a physical attack. Have you read all the articles about military aged Chinese men coming across our unsecure Southern border? Oh, a bunch of yahoos on the FBI terrorism watch list have been caught at the border too. How many evaded capture?
Listening to you cry about your position within the government. What? All these years and you never secured one of those cushy, never get fired positions?
Had a good friend of mine from the Marines who went government. He said he could get me in. I said, lets wait 6 months and then tell me how good it is. Job security. Pension (he got his military time put toward retirement). Medical and dental those in the private sector would cry for.
And he hated it. The typical bureaucracy, politics, paper work was worse then the private sector. At one time he was looking to go back to the private sector but he was trapped with his military time toward his retirement.
As I mentioned in another comment, the last government shutdown showed how many of these government employees are just two paychecks away from economic disaster. Is that because of their pay? No. They are a product of the Fast Food Lifestyle where they want it their way, right away and on the cheap. The 2,400sqft home, all stainless steal appliances, granite counter tops, two very nice cars, a big screen TV in every room. The latest electronics. They dine out three times a week and order in the other times, never using that spiffy kitchen. That is hyper-consumerism at its best. They put themselves in that position.
I heard that they are working to have the One World Government to be in place by January 2024 sometime and the money will be digital in January 2024 sometime, just 3 months! So we all need to be prepared for what’s going to happen really soon. You don’t have to believe me, that’s ok. You will see it unfold before your eyes in 2024.
When I review Isaiah 24, with particular regard to the treacherous dealers dealing very treacherously, I know Americans who are impoverished are being offered a devil’s deal by the bureaucracy. As our replacement population gets free housing and $2,200 a month while poor Americans sleep on the streets.
What are your thoughts? The last shutdown was over a month long during President Trump’s administration. It’s hard to predict how long a shutdown will last. Sadly, the U.S. Congress is dysfunctional and can’t pass a budget. They use Continuing Resolutions (CRs) to fund government operations. Another shutdown will be further proof that America is in its collapse period. Hang in there and Godspeed to all.
Priorities…(smh)
This debacle clearly illustrates that government’s priorities are to anyone but “we the people.” They are not and never were our savior – no person, no party, no department or agency – all of them are corrupt. We, as a country, made the Faustian bargain that has let us live contentedly and complacently under the illusion of success for decades – and now the payment is due. God help us all.
All the government workers not getting paid will receive their pay when an agreement is reached. Part of prepping is being prepared for things like this. I drive an 11 year old car. I don’t need a truck loan on a 100k truck.
OMG I am going to peuk. Who in their right mind but a mental midget of a satanist supports the war in Ukraine? Cokehead, cross dresser Zelensky is using US and Canada along with other countries’ tax payer dollars to buy a McMansion for his parents, a McMansion for his mother-in-law, 9 generals who have purchased luxury villas in Spain and luxury cars, etc etc. Yes that is THE best money we as taxpayers have EVER spent. HOW much money does that money laundering, sex trafficing, adrenochrome producing country require? Meanwhile governments don’t have enough money to support their own citizens? Yeah right. This is ALL satanic destruction. Ooooh Russia is the boogeyman remember, there’s Russians right now on the doorsteps of Canada and the US waiting to rape us and eat our Twinkies. After they eat our Twinkies they are going to take over the WHOLE WORLD while high on sugar. Let’s all devote our life savings to to Ukraine! They DESERVE it, they are going to SAVE Canada and the US. You just can’t fix stupid.
Oh! But 60 Minutes, that bastion of high journal integrity (maybe back when Morley Safer was on), says they are not as corrupt as they were before!
If anyone believes that, I have some ocean front property in KS to sell you.
I almost guffawed out loud when she cited 60 Minutes as a credible source. Getting my eyes opened to their bias was one of the first cracks in my loyalty to the Democrat party back in the early 90s.
American Govt needs to shut down. The Ukrainian govt will cease automatically.
How much $$$$ is enough for these war mongers, this is insanity lead by the insane and will affect your children’s children.