As you probably (hopefully) already know, the federal government has shut down. But before you go into an uniformed state of frenzy, here’s what you should know about what is happening, why it has happened, and what this means for our country.
The government’s fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th. At the start of each year, Congress must pass a spending bill that funds the government to plan for the breakdown of the federal budget. If Congress can’t come to collectively decide on a spending bill, the government, in effect, shuts down. That is exactly what happened this past Tuesday.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is a law designed by Obama and his administration that is designed to make healthcare easily accessible to and affordable for virtually all Americans. The healthcare marketplaces that went into effect on October 1st prevent people in need of medical care from being denied it by essentially creating pools of individuals who pay collectively to reduce costs.
The huge clash of opinions toward Obamacare has played a big role in the government shutdown. A group of Republicans have been so adamant about the spending bill not including funds for Obamacare, while opposing Democrats have been equally passionate about the opposite effect, that no agreements have been made, essentially shutting down the government.
During the weekend preceding the shutdown, there was a lot of back-and-forth between the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House, the majority of which is composed of Republicans, passed spending bill amendments and additional proposal to further undercut Obamacare; the legislation, predictably, wasn’t approved by the mostly-Democratic Senate.
So what does this mean for the nation? Over 750,000 workers will be given forced leaves of absence without pay, with the other 3.3 million “essential” government employees continuing work. Affected services include benefit payments, federal courts, food safety, and food assistance, among many others. (Members of Congress and the president still receive their usual salaries). The economy will be another victim to add to the list. As Goldman Sachs economist Alec Phillips said, “For every day of shutdown, federal compensation … is reduced by $400 million…The effect is linear; a five-day shutdown would have five times the effect of a one-day shutdown.”
Take a look at some of President Obama’s remarks on the gravity of the shutdown.