U.S Government Shutdown Looms

Congress, Obama brace for showdown as government shutdown looms Wash Post

The prospect of a government shutdown appeared more possible Saturday after the House passed a budget measure in the pre-dawn hours that cuts $61 billion - and was immediately rejected by Senate Democrats and President Obama.

Government shutdown would halt many, but not all, services LA Times

Jacob Lew, the White House budget director, said plans for a shutdown have not been put in place. But Obama warned last week about "destabilizing" consequences of a shutdown.

"This is not an abstraction," he said at his Tuesday news conference. "People don't get their Social Security checks. They don't get their veterans payments. Basic functions [are] shut down. And it would have an adverse effect on our economic recovery."

Government Shut-Down Likely As House Republicans Pass Spending Bill Without Democrat Senate Support

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said a shutdown would halt military pay, veterans’ benefits, Social Security checks and government functions such as food- safety inspections. Last night she introduced a temporary spending measure to keep government agencies running through March 31 and buy time for talks

This doesn't bode well for all who are currently dependent of the government, such as military personnel, veterans, retirees, unemployed and people on food stamps or medicade/medicare.

60 million Americans now receive Social Security payments and March 4th is D-Day.

Government Shutdown History 1980-2011

Not sure I understand this...shut it down why ? and for how long ? when did this come about ???

reply to post by dnvrliz


Just started ramping up in the media last couple days and now the big news outlets are starting to run with it.

Hard to say how long or if they will at this point in the game, but will surely lead to a lot of financial chaos if they do.

reply to post by Regenmacher


Yeah,,,does that mean Congress won't be receiving their paychecks as well? What about their excellent
Healtcare Plan and contributions to their retirement account?

Gee I wonder if they will still give themselves a salary increase?

Imagine if we could do that. That must be just peachy.

Originally posted by Regenmacher
reply to post by dnvrliz

 

Just start ramping up in the media last couple days and now the big news outlets are starting to run with it.

Hard to say how long or if they will at this point in the game, but will surely lead to a lot of financial chaos if they do.

Will they actually do this ??? this is insane, the whole country will come apart, this has to be a part of a plan to start unrest....it has to.

reply to post by Wildmanimal

Between the people on SSI and unemployment, that have NO other income, how long will it be before people start dropping dead ? this is a joke right ?? I mean this is even crazy thinking to be considering it.

reply to post by dnvrliz


I don't think it will happen. The natives would get restless. I think this just puts more pressure on someone
to fold and compromise.

I bet they will find a way to give themselves a raise though. One way or another.

Nice Avatar by the way. I had about a half dozen of those guys howling the other night.

Nothing else sounds like that.

reply to post by dnvrliz


Hopefully it won't be so chaotic. This has been done before when the Republicans & Dems can't agree on
a budget. All non-essential services are put on hold. It's happened 4 or 5 times in the last 29 or 30 years.

reply to post by don rumsfeld


True that. A basic fail safe system has went into effect on those occasions.

Still it is a sign of mismanagement.

Originally posted by Wildmanimal
I don't think it will happen. The natives would get restless. I think this just puts more pressure on someone
to fold and compromise.

I truly hope that is the case, cause we are not in a good position to weather this type of storm.

Government shutdown is likely, Pelosi aide says Politico

reply to post by dnvrliz


Unfortunately, no joke at all.

You can thank the Tea Party zealots for this: they've dug their ignorant heels into the dirt and are refusing to budge unless their pet hates are defunded: Planned Parenthood and Healthcare. They apparently seem to think it would be a joyous thing to shut the government down for as long as possible.

Why on earth do voters elect people who don't believe in government?

Well. I for one can't wait to hear the neocons rise up with a great Hallelujah! when their SS & military retirement checks don't arrive, and none of the services they take for granted are there.

What those myopic TP'ers don't realize is that they will be responsible for the deaths of GIs who will lack air cover when the money for fuel runs out...no joke there either: this happened once when I was in the AF, our squadron couldn't fly for a week because the fuel was needed elsewhere, and Congress was fighting over the budget like now.

Originally posted by Wildmanimal
reply to post by don rumsfeld

 

True that. A basic fail safe system has went into effect on those occasions.

Still it is a sign of mismanagement.

Lol. I'm in California so we know all about
budget mismanagement.

reply to post by Regenmacher


You are correct my friend. Unfortunately the numbers don't lie. Even with fuzzy math.

I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg of whats coming down the pike.

Unless,,,we start bringing some of the advanced technological gizmos out of the closet and into

the marketplace. Preferably the American marketplace.

Think of the economic revolution the PC created. The products,the jobs, the intel.

That was originally funded by the military. I think DOD. They were sneaking equipment in to Gates at

Harvard in the middle of the night.

We don't need just a balanced budget. We need a job creating Genie. S&F to you

The whole thing is a farce, a comedy of poor acting ability. All of this make believe posturing and hand wrenching by these politicians.


Let me ask you this one question.

If the country is truly broke and we are in need of severe, aggressive cutbacks to the national budget........why may I ask are we still pooring over $1 billion per day on this endless and idiotic war in Afghanistan?


How, as a politician and elected official, can they honestly say with a straight face "sorry retiree's, military dependants, school children, unemployed people....we dont have enough in the coffers to meet payroll"....all while continuing to waste massive amounts of money on this stupid war?

So we will cut social security and education to the bone, while we send billions of dollars that we dont have to prop up Israel and Egypt and to sustain military bases in over 100 foreign lands?

Truly sickening and shameful. We should all be ashamed.

Originally posted by Wildmanimal
reply to post by dnvrliz

 

I don't think it will happen. The natives would get restless. I think this just puts more pressure on someone
to fold and compromise.

I bet they will find a way to give themselves a raise though. One way or another.

Nice Avatar by the way. I had about a half dozen of those guys howling the other night.

Nothing else sounds like that.

edit on 19-2-2011 by Wildmanimal because: Add in/Typo

Thanks...I have one myself, a little half breed guy....Papa coyote must have jumped the fence !!!

reply to post by BlackOps719


Because if we don't control the resources there, someone else will.

Furthermore, it appears to keep certain folks rolling in dough.

Not us though. It will be coming out of our paychecks for the rest of our lives. Every April 15th.

reply to post by Wildmanimal


Also, think of the location. Slap dab right between two hot spots. Pakistan and Iran.

Our presence there appears to be a necessary evil of our times.

There are other ways to cut spending. But you know how it is,,,,"not in my backyard".

people don't realize if we want any type of future we need to cut the fat and not look back...... not to long ago if you wanted income when you got old and gray you worked.... you didn't pay for others to live all your life and hope it's there when you get old.... way back when if you didn't work you didn't get paid....

may be if people didn't expect all the entitlements we wouldn't have a huge debt.... maybe if greed didn't lead the officials.....

they created this mess it's time to clean it up...... cut the fat and set a budget that can be handle by national income.... not enough national income they caused it with pushing companies to move over seas and strict corp regulations taxes ect....

bring it all on get it over with maybe by the time my son if my age he could benefit from prosperity instead of being born into debt.

reply to post by dnvrliz


How cool is that! Not to be off topic, but make sure to get those rabies shots.

Find a way to work that into the budget.

reply to post by Wildmanimal



So very soon millions of vulnerable American citizens wont be able to feed or shelter themselves or their families, but hey! At least they will have cheap oil and gas prices, right?


Who cares if the working class suffers...... just as long as the banking tycoons and oil company executives arent too inconvenienced