The latest US shutdown

Only recently did the US political machine require shutdowns of the federal government to allow Congress to discuss budgetary issues. The first two times the government was partially shutdown were during the Clinton administration in 1995 and 1996. The third time was from October 1st to October 17th, 2013 under Obama's administration. During both shutdown events workers were furloughed and the economy suffered slightly. And why? Both shutdown events occurred in highly polarized Congresses. According to a 2013 joint study by Duke University and UNC, the events of the 1995 Congress potentially have led to increasingly partisan politics in D.C. such that, although 1995 represented the most partisan Congress in 100 years, the politics are even more polarized now.

After my brother graduated from college he worked on Capitol Hill for Louisiana's Democratic Senator for a couple of years. During the latest shutdown, over 800,000 federal employees were deemed "non-essential" and furloughed from their jobs. The "non-essential" departments included the EPA, WIC services, FEMA, and national parks services, among others. When I read articles about the political squabbling of the shutdown I couldn't help but think about all of the people deemed "non-essential" who paid the price for big party officials in the House and Senate refusing to discuss budget and healthcare issues like adults. If any of them were like my brother when he worked in the Senate then they desperately needed those jobs and those paychecks to go about their daily lives. 

The worst part about this latest shutdown is that it seems to have gone on way longer than it should have. Neither side got what it wanted out of the shutdown and people who could have made the shutdown end more quickly refused to talk to eachother seriously about Republicans' and Democrats' goals and the possibility for a compromise.