Zep wrote: 
It's a shameful political stunt, having nothing to do with the budget at all, just about pulling funds from Planned Parenthood, or at least that is their excuse.

Military will not receive their pay, and there are hundreds of other orgs that will be seriously affected. 

 oldslabsides wrote: 

No, tax deadlines still apply.

And you still have to show up for federal jury duty.

And you still have to take your castor oil.

 Southern_Boy wrote: 
DC trash pickup is one function that will be impacted. In fact, the city of Washington pretty much gets clobbered by gov shutdowns.  

Federal unemployment benefits... National Park closures...  Museums... Tax refunds... Federal home loan guarantees... Payments on T-bills... on and on...

So yeah, some of this stuff is butt-pain that will eventually be back on-line.  Shutting it down is a political stunt. 

 islander wrote: 

So.....gas prices will spike well over $4.00?

 Southern_Boy wrote: 
You'll get it but it will bounce..

 Southern_Boy wrote: 

already got mine.

 rosedraws wrote: 
There's the conundrum though. If you take a hostage and someone calls your bluff, your only option is to shoot the hostage. Maybe we wind up with just a flesh wound, but no one is walking away from this unscathed. We crossed that line weeks ago when we reached the point of threatening a shutdown.

I'm not saying any of this is right. It's stupid. A shutdown will actually cost MORE money. The budget arguments going on now are meaningless, and the idealogical stands of both sides are dueling  banjos while Rome is burning. At this point, we all need to be sure our seatbelts are fastened, our heads are between our legs and we are braced for impact. This is going to be rough no matter what.

 oldslabsides wrote: 
Just that the refunds won't be going out. So now they won't be able to return your money.

 oldslabsides wrote: 

No, the check cleared.

 rosedraws wrote: 

Amen, sister. When oh WHEN are some people (the necessary people) going to focus on what LIVING PEOPLE need right now??? WHEN??

For now, anyway, when things are so dire............

If they shut it down, does that mean they stop collecting taxes?

 Southern_Boy wrote: 

Word.

If the government shuts down for a couple of weeks, we'll get to see just which people and agencies are really necessary.

Actually, there is an answer...

the Republicans could take the ideology out of the budget package, then there wouldn't be a shut down. 

Then they could enact their ideology via normal channels.

They don't have to give up their ideology or be weak, they just can't hold the whole country hostage in order to demand it.

My friend owns a store at the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park (they rent and sell hiking/camping/climbing equip. n such), which will now be closed, and it's their busiest time of the year.

It's a conundrum. 

I hope Obama stays strong in supporting Planned Parenthood funding and against things like mountaintop mining.  It's an ideological stalemate.

Innocent people will suffer if we have a shut down though.

I don't know what the solution is.

I think it's worth a topic.

I was reminded by an email I got this morning,

“…In the event of a federal government shutdown, the Postal Service will continue normal operations. However, “Passport Day in the USA” events scheduled tomorrow at more than 1,600 Post Offices nationwide will be cancelled, if there is a government shutdown. The Postal Service will NOT be authorized to accept passport applications… As a self-funded independent agency of the Executive Branch, the Postal Service does not shut down if a government closure takes place… In addition, Post Offices and postal facilities will remain open during normal business hours, with the possible exception of units located inside federal office buildings…”