Now that the federal government has partially shut down, the big question isn’t how we’ll ever manage, it’s: Did anything actually shut down?
On Monday night the House and Senate missed their deadline for passing a spending resolution due to disagreement over Obamacare funding, which sent the media into a frenzy. But just consider all of the things that will not shut down or halt during the so-called shutdown.
All branches of the military will function as usual, including our troops in Afghanistan. The Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration, and all federal law enforcement offices and officials right down to traffic cops will still be on the job. Emergency services, including 911, as well as federal prisons and disaster assistance will still be available.
Don’t worry about grandma and your deadbeat brother—Social Security and unemployment checks will still go out on time, as will Medicaid and Medicare payments (at least the ones Democrats haven’t siphoned off to pay for Obamacare). Food stamps and the school lunch program will be available, as will most veterans’ services. The mail will go out six days a week, and federal courts will continue to hear cases.
Federal agents will still patrol the border, and U.S. Immigration Services will continue to process immigration applications, though E-Verify will be down (naturally). The National Weather Service will function, as will air traffic controllers, NASA, Amtrak, food inspectors, and hazardous waste handlers.
Also off the chopping block are of course the full salaries of President Obama ($400,000) and all House and Senate members (ranging from $174,000 to $230,700, counting Vice-President Joe Biden, who also functions as “President of the Senate”).
And then there are the offices of the 76 percent of federal employees who have been deemed “essential” for the nation to function, even though most of their positions didn’t exist 50 years ago. The other 24 percent will be furloughed and probably receive back pay, as they always have. The Office of Management and Budget (which has not shut down) will determine who stays on the job (with pay) and who gets furloughed (with pay). Those lucky enough to stay and pick up the slack may be eligible for overtime.
Highly critical government offices that remain at least partially open and the essential services they provide include the Internal Revenue Service (monitoring Tea Party groups), Federal Reserve (deflating the currency), and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (harassing banks).
Only 15 percent of Justice Department employees will be furloughed. (Eric Holder needs a lot of help suing North Carolina for being racist.) 99 percent of all Head Start programs will remain open.
Here are the things that have shut down:
National parks, the Smithsonian, and the National Zoo.
That’s about it. In other words, a few D.C. tourists will have to entertain themselves paddle boating in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and shopping at Pentagon City.
Oh—and federal loans to buy houses are temporarily unavailable, which should help stave off the next financial crisis.
Why were House Republicans so daring in being willing to push us to the brink? Perhaps it’s because the supposedly catastrophic sequester earlier this year turned out to be such a non-issue.
The government has shut down 17 times since 1977, not counting assorted sequesters and Snowpocalypses, and somehow we’ve survived. Your average American is generally skeptical of government, doesn’t understand most of its functions, and suspects it’s too big. Why should he be quaking in terror because it will be taking a breather for a few days?
As Mark Levin often notes, there’s a government shutdown every Friday with no untoward consequences. It’s called “the weekend.”
