Both the House and Senate continue getting paid. Notice a trend here for the political elite? :yep::shifty:

The GOP are fighting for the people here, the Democrats let the shutdown happen because they want this ignorant law to take effect.

People let the few good points about this law(such as pre existing conditions) cloud their judgement on the monstrosity that this law is and the deep, hurtful economic impact it is already having and will have in the future. This law has 19 or so new taxes in it, the 15% tax on new medical equipment is one of the most hurtful and it is one the Republicans tried to have removed in their last minute deal but the Democrats refused, despite the consequences. This tax on medical equipment costs companies that produce the equipment, it costs the supply companies, it costs the hospitals, health care facilities etc, in turn this raises hospital bills, which costs the insurance companies, which in turn is finally passed on to the consumer via higher premiums.Wait, wait, the law was supposed to lower costs lol that is why premiums have gone up(along with other taxes) in many states and will continue as this monstrosity is further implemented.

This law is causing many businesses to cut back workers to part time to avoid having to pay the outrageously high premiums to cover employees.Suddenly, people have less money to spend, the residual effects of bills not being paid on time, less consumer spending etc equals a large economic slowdown.Now, they managed to get a one year reprieve on the business mandate but they are still cutting and will even more once it expires.What about fairness? Individual mandate was not delayed so they expect individuals to pay for ever rising healthcare costs and funny thing is, the premiums will cost more than the fines for not having insurance lol idiots designed this law.Guess who wanted to delay it along with the equipment tax? The Republicans, the so called "bullies" , not the Democrats, they refused, to hell with the people, they want their crappy law shoved down our throat, even if it means shutting down the government and refusing the deal.Who is the real bully here? This is not opinion, this is fact, it happened last night.

Bottom line, Republicans are fighting for the people, even if some are too ignorant to realize it, they trying to mitigate the damage this law will cause and the Democrats and the , ugh President are the ones refusing to compromise.Their baby(the law) is deeply unpopular, idiotic, and just wrong, but they don't care, why? Because it is more money and power for the government, it will also make people disgusted with private insurance(more so) and get the overall ignorant populace to open up to "single payer" healthcare in a few years, then, we will be really screwed.That is their long game, so before go jump on that bandwagon, learn what this law really does and why this fight is happening.Shutting down the government is worth stopping this law or trying to.

"Punch yourself in the balls until you puke and we won't shut down the government."

"What? No!"

"Ok, let's compromise. Punch yourself in the balls until you double over in pain. You don't have to puke. It's a compromise!"

"But I still have to punch myself in the balls. I don't see how that's a compromise."

"I gave a little. See? You used to have to punch until you vomited. Now just until you nearly collapse. So we're agreed, right?"

"But all I get out of the deal is a bit less ball-punching."

"LOOK HERE EVERYONE, THEY WON'T COMPROMISE!"

"The Day the Government Shut Down and the Markets Did Not Care." A short story by Timothy Geithner.

Yup, there's gonna be a whole lot of angry words being exchanged for the near foreseeable future.

So stealhead, what was that you were saying about polarization? :O:

It does go further than closed parks and tourist attractions though, just take a look at this thread, and razark. If this thing only lasts a couple of days then the effect will be minimal, but if it goes to twenty-one days like last time then there's going to be a lot of Americans who are going to be eating into their savings, and as such they are going to be reluctant to spend and that will have a knock on effect to businesses. It's not a big knock-on affect, it's not the end of the world for the US economy, but it's something that it could do without.
Then there's the knock-on effect that the shutdown has had on the view of the US government and its members by both the US people and the people of the world, when the last shutdown happened under Clinton it was widely acknowledged to be a factor that helped re-elect Clinton, because the Republicans were seen as being behind the shutdown and it hurt them. This time it's a bit less clear-cut as the Democrats are seen as being partly involved by refusing to negotiate, but nevertheless this will backfire on the Republicans badly, especially if they do go ahead and play chicken with the debt-ceiling in a fortnight.

So, short story long, whilst this might not be devastating for America and the world, it's troubling and bad news for those people who are either working without pay (and no guarantee of back-pay) or those who have been told that they have no work to do (and no pay to have), it's bad news for the Republicans who risk being fingered for this mess, and it's bad news for Americas standing in the world who are looking on in some confusion as to how this has been allowed to happen.

Honestly, you don't think it was reasonable for GOP to ask for the 15% tax(which is causing premiums to rise) to be delayed or removed? and for the individual mandate to be delayed? Only fair since the business mandate was delayed? The mandate and tax are highly unpopular parts of the law that have no place there to begin with.These were reasonable, fair options, the Senate and President refused, now the government is shut down.

The sad part of this that needs to be discussed is that the federal government is large enough, enough people depend on it for employment or benefits that is actually matters if it shuts down.This is the sad part of all this, the federal government should be relatively inconsequential unless we are at war.Too many people depend on the government for a job, too many depend on it for their NEEDS. Seriously wish Doc Brown would roll up in a time machine and could go back and stop some of the progressive fools who caused this. :/\\!!

That is what savings accounts are for. Rainy day or issues like this that crop up. I, like many others, have lost jobs and eaten up savings. Or in my case, blew my 401k to stay afloat. Did anyone really care? No sir. People are already reluctant to spend. Nothing much will change in my opinion. Furthermore, gov't employees can work their vacation weeks getting paid plus get the paid vacation on top. Sorry the worker loses a week of vacation but ain't we all lost a vacation at one time for another?

Also, those in the US that do not work for the Fed are faced with much more daunting/different realities than what the Fed worker faces. We are not provided free pension or healthcare program. We save in a 401k. Some are lucky enough to have the employer handle healthcare. Some are not. The Fed gets every holiday off with pay. Many other workers do not. As a Fed worker you are pretty much guaranteed a place of employment until you retire. Other jobs do not afford such great deals. So, take the good with the bad.

And to add, the government has shut down plenty of times. Everyone survived to tell about it.
:salute:

I think those of the left leaning persuasion are butthurt over this the most. They just can't live without big brother doing and deciding things for them. The mere thought of it, is probably scary.

I think the Democrats set this trap for the Republicans from the outset, with perhaps the long view of next elections in mind. The Democrat rhetoric being thrown around weeks beforehand is kind of a clue. Then the republicans painted themselves into a corner, with few options out if the didn't want to become utter pushovers that can be bullied around. I've said it before, and i'll say it again, I fear the day when the Democrats have control over the Senate, the house, and the Oval office. With no weighty counter balance, we'll have what's tantamount to a one party system lead by an ideology that wipes its ass with the constitution; and they'll put us well on our way toward an authoritarian nanny state devoid of individual rights.

As for our standing in the world, it already is crap thanks to "The chosen ones" myriad scandals, blatant bold faced lies, and utter pooch screw of the Syria incident. This is just icing on the cake.

I guess it depends on each individual, and certainly there were warning signs that a shutdown was going to happen at some point, if not now then next time the issue came up, and in a way it's better that any confrontations are sorted out now rather than during the debt ceiling vote, but since neither side seem ready to negotiate at the moment then I wonder what's going to change between now and the debt ceiling negotiation, but we will see.
Oh, like I said, it's not the end of the world, but it's not a good thing by any stretch of the imagination.

it already happened from 2008-2010 and out of that we got out of control debt, obamacare, 17% "real" unemployment, and 47% of americans on food stamps and other forms of government handouts to ensure dependency on the government system and the need to vote democrat to preserve the free ride.

people love socialism as long as they are getting the benefits of whats taken from others but the problem with socialism is at some point you will run out of others to take from.

Agreed, certainly not a good thing. If it drags on then it gets worse for the individual that is not working as a result of the shut down. I really do not wish this on anyone, however, this action by the Fed is a part of the job description. The WH can click one finger and give the Fed workers the day off with pay before a major holiday. And the WH has and will do in the future. Like anyone else, everyone has to take the good with the bad. Everyone in the work force has to accept that reality.

There are over 400 people on Capital Hill that need to grow up and quickly. The Repubs are working towards something for the good of all. Have they really asked to take ACA off the books? No. Asked for a delay. Asked that Fed employees sign up at the ACA site. No reason the political elite and their minions should get a free ride. The Senate refuses to even entertain what is proposed. The doors are closed. It is childish. Why we as American's would continue to keep these self-serving individuals on the rolls is beyond me.

And Webster has summed it up nicely. :yep: Well played Dems. Well played.

I think that is the thing that has been the undoing of the Republicans of late, well, one of them anyway. The Democrats have been laying out some pretty obvious traps for them, and they're just running into them with a big smile on their face. The Syrian vote was a trap, but the Russians managed to save the Republicans (that's something I never thought I'd type).
There's been very little political sense in the GOP for a while, since they just walk, or perhaps are pushed by their radical members, into some very obvious traps and it's costing them.

Not sure I'd agree with you on the whole one party system thing, but obviously America has a different way of conducting things than the rest of the world, so I wouldn't start to say about some sort of totalitarian takeover of the US and the destruction of the US constitution.

As for the standing, well, 'the chosen one' has certainly made some hefty foreign policy blunders which have only compounded those made by his predecessor.