What Does The United States Government Shutdown Mean To You?

The United States government officially shut down last night.  What does that mean to you and me?  CNN has listed the top 10 ways the government shutdown could effect you.

Check out the list here!

1.  No national parks.  You can't go to Yosemite, Yellowstone, or the Statue of Liberty on vacation if you wanted to.  Or any other national park, national zoo, or national museum.  They'll all be closed . . . all 368 sites run by the National Park Service.

2.  If you're a federal employee, you're on unpaid leave.  But in the two shutdowns we had in the '90s, they DID pay all the employees retroactively when the shutdown ended.

3.  Military employees WILL get paid.  Congress put in a special exemption for them during all this nonsense.

4.  You would STILL pay taxes.  What else did you expect?

5.  You would still get your mail.  Neither snow, nor rain, nor government shutdowns can stop the Postal Service.

6.  Obamacare would STILL get funded.  Its funds don't depend on the congressional budget process.  So the Republican effort to stop Obamacare will actually KEEP IT GOING.

7.  You won't be able to get a gun permit.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms would be closed.

8.  No federal loans.  No small business loans and no home loans.  And veterans' benefits wouldn't be paid either.  But Social Security payments would be expected to continue.

9.  For Washington, D.C., there would be no city services.  Including trash collection.  The city budget has to be approved by Congress.

10.  American pride would suffer.  Or maybe not, who knows.  Most of us have plenty to spare.  But it never looks good for the most powerful country on Earth to be floundering around with no leadership and no cash flow.  (CNN)

What are your thoughts on the whole thing?