As the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, September 31, the federal government officially ran out of money. In other words, it entered a government shutdown. For the past three weeks, the term has been used on every major cable news channel, though it confuses many SHS students.
“I just know it means the White House isn’t working,” said sophomore Fiona O’Dowd, when asked what she thought the term meant. Of course, O’Dowd isn’t wrong. The White House isn’t working. However, there is much more to a government shutdown than meets the eye, according to SHS history teacher Richard Kermond.
“The US government isn’t a business, but in some ways it functions as a business,” Kermond stated. “If the government doesn’t pay its bills, the electricity will get shut off.” In this case, Kermond said, Congress–which has the sole power to spend money within the federal government–couldn’t agree on the new budget before the previous budget ran out. Consequently, the government’s various agencies and departments stopped receiving funding to continue their daily work.
As a result, millions of government workers are being furloughed, meaning they are being sent home without pay, according to Kermond. With each passing day of the shutdown, trash pileups at national parks will grow, and federal workers will continue to fall behind on rent, credit card bills, and car payments.
On the other hand, essential government workers like air-traffic controllers, Transportation Security Agency (TSA) employees, and military personnel are actually still forced to work without pay. Oftentimes, the government will try to give them small stipends and defer their missing pay until the shutdown is lifted, though ripple effects are still felt.
Kermond himself worked as an essential worker for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from 2007 to 2013, though he never experienced a shutdown.
Even still, many essential workers will begin using sick time as opposed to working unpaid, causing delays at airports, federal courts, and border crossings while federal services are being cut dramatically. Luckily, Kermond said, “The government has chosen to still keep some services intact for now.” Benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, are still being funded by the government, though officials warn such funding could run dry sometime in November.
According to Kermond, who is a Coast Guard veteran, other services like VA benefits remained in operation during the shutdown in 2017.
On Tuesday, October 21, the government shutdown will enter its fourth week with no signs of stopping.