Govt shutdown nonsense - fact from fiction

Well, it's day 24 of the partial government shutdown and, ask yourself; So, what exactly is a “government shutdown?”

“In short, it means that the Congress hasn’t passed, and the president hasn’t signed, legislation that directs the U.S. Treasury to fund the operations of one or more federal agencies and departments over a period of time. When that happens, there is a funding gap and those agencies either shut down or curtail their activities. Employees are furloughed without pay for the duration but some are required to keep working, without pay, especially if their jobs are related to the ‘safety of human life or the protection of property.’”* [Emphasis added.]

Now, if you are not an employee in some way of the federal government, ask yourself; So, other than hearing about it all the time on the news, have I really been affected by it? If so, has it been by much?

Granted, if you’re trying to lock in your mortgage rate or close on the sale or purchase of a home, you’re probably in limbo. (I know; I was there myself during a government shutdown during the Clinton Era.) But, do you not still see food on the store shelves, the electricity still on and the water taps still providing water in your home? Has your mail or packages from Amazon Prime suddenly been undeliverable? When you look up into the sky, do you not still see large airliners (or the contrails therefrom) overhead? If you receive a monthly check from social security, military retirement, welfare or food stamps have your checks not been coming?

The answer to the above is yeah; there’s still food, electricity, water, the mail is still being delivered, airliners and other aircraft flying around (some of which were hauling 30 Democrat congress folks and 109 lobbyists down to Puerto Rico to party on the beach and attend live performance of the hit Broadway show “Hamilton” and “attend three parties including one with the show’s cast.” **  And “Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare payments won’t be interrupted by the partial shutdown. All three programs are considered mandatory spending and are not affected by a federal budget debate.”*** (Somehow, that aspect of this shutdown situation brings to mind the old saying about Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned…. But that is a discussion for another time.)

You may find yourself asking, But, what about really important federal govt jobs? What about them?

Let’s start with “‘Excepted’ positions;

“Federal employees who perform “emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property” or other types of work will be “excepted” from shutdown furloughs.”

“Otherwise, federal employees whose salaries are funded through annual appropriations will be asked not to work.”

“Since most political appointees are not subject to furlough because they are not part of the Title 5 leave system, most will continue to work during a shutdown.”****

What if they’re not “excepted” jobs; how will they pay their bills, you may ask? Remember; “Federal workers are encouraged to apply for unemployment compensation should they qualify for it in their home states.”***** So,  “Federal workers who lose pay during the government shutdown can fall back on unemployment benefits in most states.”****** So, all the rumors about babies not getting formula because their parent(s) is/are federal employees affected by the shutdown is just hogwash.  

Even so, you might be inclined to say, but, what about all their lost pay? “Federal employees furloughed during the shutdown in 2013 did receive back pay for the 16 days the government remained closed. Congress included a provision in its October 2013 spending bill that reopened the government and authorized that furloughed employees receive “at their regular standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse in appropriations, as soon as practicable.”****

So, the military and federal law enforcement is still on duty and getting paid.  Not only that but veterans are still getting access to VA benefits, etc. “The VA Contingency Plan for the shutdown states that nearly all of it’s [sic] employees-approximately 96 percent-are ordered to report to work as usual…. VA medical facilities remain open and appointments are still being kept at VA hospitals and clinics.” ******** And the retirement checks will still be paid. The federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) definitively says the “answer to this question is a definitive “yes.” According to OPM, “Federal retirees under the CSRS and FERS retirement systems will still receive their scheduled annuity payments on the first business day of the month.”******

But, what about the poor and indigent and other elderly who rely on Medicare and Medicaid? “The partial government shutdown will have no impact on Medicare and Medicaid at the federal level, CMS has stressed to industry observers.

“The nation’s public payers will continue to operate as normal, since funding for CMS is assured until at least September 30, 2019.

“CMS and its programs (including, but not limited to, @Medicaregov, @Medicaidgov and @Healthcaregov) are NOT affected by the partial gov't shutdown,” CMS stated on Twitter after the partial shutdown began in late December [2018].”*********

So, it's important to remember that - despite all the media claptrap to the contrary - the entire government is not shutdown. Critical elements of it – like federal law enforcement, the Federal Aviation Administration, etc are still open with the lights still on (albeit perhaps with a reduced staffing).

And life goes on. The sun will set in the western sky tonight and rise again in the east tomorrow morning just like always. In fact, I would wager that if there weren't the media hyping this partial government shutdown everytime we turned round, 99.9% of the American public would not only be unaffected by it, but would be completely unaware it was going on at all.

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* Spangler, Todd. “Government Shutdown: 23 Questions You Probably Have.” Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press, 10 Jan. 2019, www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/01/10/government-shutdown-faq/2528872002/.

**Ogrysko, Nicole. “Your Pay and Benefits during a Government Shutdown, Explained.” Federal News Network, Federal News Network, 29 Nov. 2017, federalnewsnetwork.com/government-shutdown/2017/04/your-pay-and-benefits-during-a-government-shutdown-explained/.

*** Bedard, Paul. “30 Democrats in Puerto Rico with 109 Lobbyists for Weekend despite Shutdown.” Washington Examiner, MediaDC, a Subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, 14 Jan. 2019, www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/30-dems-in-puerto-rico-with-109-lobbyists-for-weekend-despite-shutdown.

**** Goodkind, Nicole. “Here's What Happens to Social Security and Disability Checks in the Event of a Government Shutdown.” Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2018, www.newsweek.com/government-shutdown-social-security-disability-checks-1269131.

***** Wing, Terry, and Nicole Ogrysko. “Here's How a Shutdown Would Affect Your Pay and Benefits.” Federal News Network, Federal News Network, 20 Jan. 2018, federalnewsnetwork.com/government-shutdown/2018/01/heres-how-a-shutdown-would-affect-your-pay-and-benefits/.

******Higgins, Sean. “Federal Employees File for Unemployment as Government Shutdown Becomes Longest in History.” Washington Examiner, MediaDC, a Subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, 12 Jan. 2019, www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/federal-employees-file-unemployment-as-government-shutdown-becomes-longest-in-history.

*******Smith, Ian. “How Pay and Retirement Benefits Are Impacted by a Partial Shutdown.” FedSmith: For the Informed Fed, 16 Dec. 2016, www.fedsmith.com/2018/12/16/pay-retirement-benefits-impacted-partial-shutdown/.

******** Kurtz, Annalyn. “Federal Workers Can Collect Unemployment during Shutdown.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 1 Oct. 2013, money.cnn.com/2013/10/01/news/economy/shutdown-federal-unemployment-benefits/index.html.

*********“Government Shutdown & Impact to Military, Veterans | Military Benefits.” MilitaryBenefits.info, 11 Jan. 2019, militarybenefits.info/government-shutdown/.

**********HealthPayerIntelligence. “Government Shutdown Spares Medicare, Medicaid, But Has Other Impacts.” HealthPayerIntelligence, 11 Jan. 2019, healthpayerintelligence.com/news/government-shutdown-spares-medicare-medicaid-but-has-other-impacts.