How's the partial federal government shutdown affecting you?

[bcla]

I kinda see a point in closing the parks since there will be no one there to collect the trash but I don't understand why government web pages that present static data are purposefully turned off during shutdowns. The only reason to do that is to try and make the shutdown more painful for the tax payers. Seems contrary to the government serving the citizens.

Don't get that either. Yosemite operated until the human waste problem went critical in two areas. There are reports that people are just leaving human waste in the open. There are "vault toilets" and port-a-potties that have been left open, but they eventually need to be serviced. I've visited when the waste service was pumping them out. I think there's a skeleton crew working without pay, including updating the website. Hetch Hetchy and Mariposa Grove in Yosemite are both officially closed, and anyone entering can be cited.

https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasunti...s-the-park-is-very-busy-with-limited-services

 

[punkin]

Looks like we may be affected if it drags on much longer. DH yas to work and should get paid BUT his paycheck is processed through an affected agency so will he actually get paid? Your guess is as good as mine. I guess we'll find out in 2 weeks.

 

[Erica_Haley]

I work in a dispatch center where yesterday, we dispatched for this terrible accident. It was absolutely terrible, and even though its hard to believe, worse than the article leads. We have a specialized team for crashes of this magnitude that have multiple fatalities. They were asked to respond yesterday, and the dispatcher was told they're not responding to anything due to the government shutdown.

 

[cabanafrau]

Trying to think what Federal services I actually have used in 2018:

TSA 4 times. Which I think is an essential service and exempt.

Air Traffic Controllers 4 times Which I think is an essential service and exempt.

IRS Once. Which I think is an essential service and exempt.

Post Office, but that is technically an agency independent from the Federal Government.

IRS isn't exempt. I think only about 10-percent of IRS employees are exempted. That could get dicey quickly because a lot of schedules haven't been settled yet & we are heading smack into tax prep time.

As for those commenting and saying they plan their tax situation to owe, not get refunded -- good luck with that this year. I know several people in the industry who are still wondering where the chips will fall this year.

 

[disykat]

I feel like if ANY of us are affected, then ALL of us are affected. It would be impossible for me to say I'm not affected. I have felt strongly affected by all of the closures in the past and am more worried than ever about this one.

That said, I have yet to feel the impact of the closure directly in my daily life. My DH is DOD and is still being paid in this particular closure.

 

[luvsJack]

I work in a dispatch center where yesterday, we dispatched for this terrible accident. It was absolutely terrible, and even though its hard to believe, worse than the article leads. We have a specialized team for crashes of this magnitude that have multiple fatalities. They were asked to respond yesterday, and the dispatcher was told they're not responding to anything due to the government shutdown.

That's terrible!!

 

[LSUmiss]

If the dmv is closed I need to re sew my id card but I can wait to do that

That’s a state govt operation.

 

[LSUmiss]

Good luck dealing with your own trash if your county/city shuts down. And even if you don't have kids in public schools, I'm pretty sure a school shut down would make an impact on your life.

I think the reason so many people are saying "no impact" is because the government has a wide definition of "essential", specifically with the goal of minimizing impact on citizens. I really almost wish that a shut down would be truly a shut down (except for military/LEO) so that people actually had a better sense of what the government really does every day.

Not to mention all the ppl continuing to have to work with no pay.

 

[mousefan73]

We are not directly effected, but I have a houseful of young women (DD's roommates from college) this week who had plans to visit the Smithsonian museums this week. I'm going to have to find a way to occupy them.

This is where the snowball affect starts.... ... We did DC and hit the Smithsonians, took Uber to the museums, and bought souveniers/ ice cream from street vendors along the mall, ate lunch at a place. I am sure these guys are hurting right now too from lack of visitors.

 

[bcla]

I feel like if ANY of us are affected, then ALL of us are affected. It would be impossible for me to say I'm not affected. I have felt strongly affected by all of the closures in the past and am more worried than ever about this one.

That said, I have yet to feel the impact of the closure directly in my daily life. My DH is DOD and is still being paid in this particular closure.

DoD is unaffected because their budget is separate and already approved by Congress.

 

[Searc]

Not all of the new rules and regulations for taxes for small businesses, corporations and LLCs have been released yet for this year. IRS officials who should be working on tightening those up and releasing them are short-staffed due to the shutdown. It may be a very messy tax season for some people.

 

[wvjules]

My client is a cabinet-level agency and it is open and fully funded therefore I, and everyone else at the agency, are working as usual.

I know in the DC area the ripple effects are going to be far reaching. Metro ridership is down. Tourism will suffer. Businesses will have less customers. The impact will last a while.

I'm sickened at what is happening at the National Parks. It will take a long time for them to be cleaned up and restored.

A federal government shutdown affects us all, whether you think it does or not.

 

[disykat]

DoD is unaffected because their budget is separate and already approved by Congress.

Yes. He is being paid because their budget was already approved. I wouldn't go so far as to say unaffected.

 

[disykat]

My client is a cabinet-level agency and it is open and fully funded therefore I, and everyone else at the agency, are working as usual.

I know in the DC area the ripple effects are going to be far reaching. Metro ridership is down. Tourism will suffer. Businesses will have less customers. The impact will last a while.

I'm sickened at what is happening at the National Parks. It will take a long time for them to be cleaned up and restored.

A federal government shutdown affects us all, whether you think it does or not.

I agree. I have a hard time with people using the words "it doesn't affect me" because it affects all of us.

 

[cabanafrau]

I agree. I have a hard time with people using the words "it doesn't affect me" because it affects all of us.

When dominoes start falling in an economy it causes others to fall. Lots of people with no income will cause spending to shrink. That contraction in spending will affect how much other businesses take in, and so on, and so on . . .

 

[DisneyHardin]

IRS isn't exempt. I think only about 10-percent of IRS employees are exempted. That could get dicey quickly because a lot of schedules haven't been settled yet & we are heading smack into tax prep time.

As for those commenting and saying they plan their tax situation to owe, not get refunded -- good luck with that this year. I know several people in the industry who are still wondering where the chips will fall this year.

IRS is definitely not exempt. One of my good friends works for the IRS and he hasn't been to work for 2 weeks.

 

[soccerdad72]

My son is leaving in a couple weeks for a DC trip with classmates - hoping things are opened by then. And working for a community college, I've heard that the shutdown is somewhat affecting FAFSA filings, with increased errors on the IRS match database.

 

[skyblue17]

Not sure if we are allowed to link out here, but I just read that hundreds of TSA screeners are beginning to call in sick at major airports as the shutdown continues. I'm not sure how that kind of situation gets remedied without the government re-opening. They currently aren't going to be getting a paycheck, but I don't THINK they can be fired either (I would assume that type of HR processing would be considered non-essential), nor can anyone else be hired and trained. And if this continues, major airports would likely slow to a standstill and anyone travelling within the US could be affected.

I am not sure how long it could possibly go on if air travel basically halts, especially since I'd imagine the airlines would get involved. Perhaps anyone deemed essential enough to work should be paid during a shutdown like this, maybe focus on that first and get to the rest after that's settled.

 

[GreatLakes]

Not to mention all the ppl continuing to have to work with no pay.

But are they? If they are going to get back pay it isn't working for no pay, it is just working now for a payment in the future. I wouldn't be thrilled if I wasn't going to be paid for a month or two for work I was doing today but I also wouldn't consider it working for no pay. I'd just have to use savings until then and top it back off.

 

[skyblue17]

But are they? If they are going to get back pay it isn't working for no pay, it is just working now for a payment in the future. I wouldn't be thrilled if I wasn't going to be paid for a month or two for work I was doing today but I also wouldn't consider it working for no pay. I'd just have to use savings until then and top it back off.

That might work if you have savings to fall back on. That is not a reality for everyone. So what are they supposed to do? And what's the incentive for continuing to show up if they aren't sure when they are going to get paid? What if they need to take on a second job to make ends meet for the time being and it interferes with their regular job?