What actually shuts down in a government shutdown
Less than you’d think, and more than Washington admits. A plain guide to who keeps working, who goes home, and who stops getting paid.
By Rusty Calloway No. 001
Every few years Congress runs out of time to agree on spending, and the word shutdown takes over the news. It sounds like the lights go off in Washington. They don’t.
Who keeps working
Anyone whose job protects life or property stays on. That covers air traffic controllers, airport screeners, the military, federal law enforcement and a long list of others. Most of them keep working without a paycheck until the shutdown ends.
Who goes home
Workers whose jobs are funded by the expired spending bills and aren’t deemed essential are sent home. National parks may close their visitor centers. Some permit and loan offices stop processing applications.
A shutdown doesn’t stop the government. It stops the government from paying a lot of the people who run it.
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What doesn’t change
Programs funded on autopilot, like Social Security payments, keep going. The Postal Service runs on its own revenue, so your mail still comes.
What to watch
The real cost shows up in the second and third weeks, when missed paychecks start to bite and backlogs pile up. That’s usually when the pressure to make a deal becomes impossible to ignore.
Sources
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