We have entered the longest government shutdown period in American ever. It has been 42 days and counting, and our government has failed to pass a spending bill that will end the government shutdown period and allow for paychecks to be allocated to federal employees across the United States. A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass a spending bill and/or the president fails to sign the spending bill into law. This tends to occur when Republican and Democrat representatives fail to agree on provisions of the spending bill, and both sides are unwilling to compromise. At present, it doesn’t seem like Republicans or Democrats (or the president) are willing to find a feasible solution. As long as this confrontation continues, there is no telling the short or long-term effects it will have on our government and fellow constituents.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, around 670,000 civil servants have been furloughed, and 730,000 have continued to work, despite their paychecks being withheld. In an era of polarization, we often remove ourselves from politics and the implications of policies we choose to or not to support. But regardless of which side you are on the political spectrum, we should be in agreement that passing a spending bill, or at least an extension of a past spending bill, is important. The over one million civil servants affected by the shutdown are real people, with themselves and their families to support. Once we reach December 1, around $4.5 million in paychecks will have been withheld from federal workers. It is imperative that a solution is found before this deadline, or these existing problems will be exacerbated.
Furthermore, as the shutdown continues, public services will begin to be restricted or lessened. According to research conducted by the Partnership for Public Service, “48% of Americans say the shutdown has impacted people in their community.” This statistic reflects the extent to which the government shutdown has affected Americans and the implications of a continued shutdown. Furthermore, the close to 2 million civil servants affected by the government shutdown are involved in service industries across the United States, including travel, food, health, and public welfare. There is no guarantee that these industries will be able to continue operating as normal, or even continue operating, if the foundation of these service industries (the federal workers) is disregarded.
It is important to look beyond ourselves and our politics to realize that the shutdown is a real issue. As constituents, we are obligated to respond to this problem and voice our concerns to representatives. Here is hoping one month of shutdown doesn’t turn into two. Â