ON OCTOBER 1, the United States government shut down. This came after Congress was unable to pass an appropriations bill. This bill failed to pass because of the Senate’s “filibuster” rules. A “filibuster” is when a bill is held in debate indefinitely to stop it from becoming law. The United States Senate needs 60 votes to call “cloture” and end debate on a bill, so until the bill gets 60 or more votes, the Government will remain shut down. The reason this bill caused the government to shut down is that, by law, the Government needs congressional approval before spending any money, and this bill would have done just that, according to the GAO.gov website.
Luckily, not everything is going to shut down; essential services like law enforcement or air traffic controllers will still be required to work and will receive back pay. Unfortunately for them, until they receive their back pay, they must figure out how to manage while not making any money. Some air traffic controllers have had to take second jobs to support themselves, according to the MSNBC.com website.
One of the most devastating aspects of this shutdown is the funding cuts to social programs. For example, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been shut down in most states. One of those states is our home state of Utah. Thousands of people in Utah use SNAP to sustain themselves, and many of those families have kids who go to Granger. Some of these kids won’t be able to afford groceries, but Granger has lots of food to give away and benefits for low-income families, like free or reduced lunch, which will hopefully be enough to get them through this shutdown. SNAP helps low-income families buy groceries. Without government help, many families could go hungry. As a result of SNAP’s shutdown, many food banks have stepped up their game and are still working hard to feed families.
Another tragedy of this shutdown is that there is no clear end in sight, and it could go on for another month. This shutdown so far has had a grave impact on the United States economy. With thousands upon thousands of federal workers currently out of a job and inflation on the rise, many experts are worried that the US is heading for a recession. In fact, 22 states are already in a recession, and 13 more are heading for one, according to The Economic Times. If, because of this current economic climate, people decide to spend less during this upcoming holiday season, it could have even more catastrophic effects on the economy.
While the federal government is shut down, state and local governments are still up and running and trying their best to support the people affected by the shutdown. Which is why it is important to remember that not everything is handled by the federal government; participate in your local and state governments.
