For the Americans, are you affected by a possible shutdown? Were you planning on visiting the Smithsonian museums net week? What do you think about what's going on?

I'm currently on (unpaid) maternity leave, so I'd already planned on not being paid. But I heard the military won't get paid past mid-April (they will get their backpay after the gov't resumes). And there are a lot of people who live paycheck-to-paycheck and will have problems if they end up missing work because of this bureaucratic problem.

I'm hoping it doesn't last very long, as I have planned a vacation to Yellowstone next month. If it were Congress that would be hurt by a shutdown, I'd be all for it but they won't be hurt at all. I wish they could sit down, put aside the partisan bickering and work out a budget. I did see a California congresswoman who said she can't afford to be without her pay as she lives paycheck to paycheck. On $175,000 a year. No wonder they can't budget. Perhaps if they lived on $25,000 a year they'd remember how to budget.

P.S.- Congratulations on your baby Ladymacb!

Ugh - I'm just upset that I'm expected to get my work done on time and they've been past their due date by over 6 months! They should get grounded if they don't get their work done...

This is the latest from CNN: (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/08/government-shutdown-the-latest/?hpt=T1)


And thanks! She's a little bit of a handful some days, but so cute!

It won't affect me personally nor do I think it will affect where I work, but I definitely wish they'd agree on something!

Here's a (kinda) recent article re: the possible shutdown. Ugh, if Planned Parenthood issues are, in part or whole, the ultimate hang-up as to whether it will happen or not, it doesn't sound like a solution is looming too brightly. Seems to me there's been no compromise on that issue (and constant differences of opinion both privately and politically) for decades with no accord reached. Ever!?

Gats - I agree! This is not the time and place for such a discussion. From what I hear, they agree on a number, but not this issue. It's so stupid that they're going to mess with a bunch of people's lives on this issue.

Here's yet another update (via CNN). It all sounds like an elementary school playground from Hell, in my opinion . Ironic, too, I'd say. We, as a country, sit here all jacked-up, constantly, about this terrorist threat or that turmoil abroad --- and what are we doing to each other? To heck with outside forces! We'll just merrily implode and go *boom!* all on our own, no outside influence(s) required! It's entirely embarrassing.

I'm not even going to pretend to understand how it all works but I'm just amazed that it can happen at all! A woman on a craft board I go to said that if it wasn't resolved her husband, who is deployed in Iraq, wouldn't be getting paid until it was sorted and would then get backpaid. She was worried as they had no savings and would find it difficult to come up with money for even the basics if it came down to it. I really am flummoxed.

Thanks, Copago! I thought I must have missed something, too.

Can someone please tell us how the USA can go broke? It does not really make sense. I think Rayven summed up a lot, but I am like Copago- it all sounds rather strange to me.

I have never been a fan of politicians of any persuasion, but this situstion seems to take the biscuit.

Basically the problem is that they need to approve a budget by a certain date and they never did. So they kept passing what are called continuing resolutions basically saying 'keep the status quo' until they pass the budget. This time, everyone said enough with the continuing resolutions, they want a budget but they weren't passing it on time. If they didn't, the federal goby wouldn't be allowed to spend any money because the law authorizes spending money - without it no one gets paid.

So without a law, a lot of people wouldn't be allowed to work because they weren't considered needed and those who were needed would have to work for free until the law was passed.

Even if the US wasn't in debt, this could still happen if Congress didn't pass a budget one year.

"Even if the US wasn't in debt, this could still happen if Congress didn't pass a budget one year."

That is what I think is the problem - not that they did approve the budget. That it can happen at all. I can see how everyone is playing politics and that the issues they are arguing are very complex but it just seems bizarre that ordinary people can be affected so drastically as to having to work and not get paid because of it or not being allowed to work at all.

Oh, yes! It's so stupid. There should be a law where if ever the budget fails to get passed, we continue as is until it is passed so there's no need for these continuing resolutions and bickering!

I bet that if the congressmen and women were not getting paid, that such a law would be in place in a matter of minutes.

Has anyone noticed that every time this problem looms, they come up with a solution at the last minute to avert a government shutdown? It will always happen like that because neither party wants to be responsible for the failure to reach agreement.

National politics suck. Both the Democrats and Republicans are of the same attitude: It's OK for the country to be screwed up as long as we can blame it on the other side.

Ask yourself this - how many services of the federal government do you really depend on day to day? Not that many, is it?

Mike