Shut Happens

It's 12:01am, do you know where your government is?

• *WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE DIRECTS AGENCIES TO BEGIN SHUTDOWN
• *U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN FOR FIRST TIME IN 17 YEARS

S&P Futures are 1677, 10Y yield 2.65%, WTI $101.96, Gold $1329.00 - let's see where we open tomorrow...

Full Statement from The White House:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

FROM: Sylvia M. Burwell, Director

SUBJECT: Update on Status of Operations

This memorandum follows the September 17,2013, Memorandum M-13-22, and provides an update on the potential lapse of appropriations.

Appropriations provided under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6) expire at 11:59 pm tonight. Unfortunately, we do not have a clear indication that Congress will act in time for the President to sign a Continuing Resolution before the end of the day tomorrow, October 1, 2013.

Therefore, agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations. We urge Congress to act quickly to pass a Continuing Resolution to provide a short-term bridge that ensures sufficient time to pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, and to restore the operation of critical public services and programs that will be impacted by a lapse in appropriations.

Agencies should continue to closely monitor developments, and OMB will provide further guidance as appropriate. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and the work you and your agencies do on behalf of the American people.

Now it's getting serious...

They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the House just forced a government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real budget.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 1, 2013

Due to a lapse in government funding, this account will not be active until further notice.

— U.S. Capitol (@uscapitol) October 1, 2013

Via Russia Today,

Here is a handy list from Russia Today of the possible effects American citizens and the rest of the world could face now that the US Government has shutdown. The last government shutdown lasted 21 days, from December 1996 to January 1997, and cost the administration of US President Bill Clinton cost an estimated $2 billion, according to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

 1 Countdown to US default looms
  A halt of US government operations would drag the world’s biggest economy closer to bankruptcy, something unprecedented in US history. If no budget deal is done, the US would bump up against their “debt ceiling”  and run out of money by October 17. By then, the US government would have less than $30 billion cash on hand, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has calculated.

2 Hundreds of thousands of federal employees on furlough
  A one-time layoff of 800,000 people working for the US government would erode the earlier projected economic growth of 2.5 percent for the fourth quarter of 2013 by about 0.32 percentage points, according to a forecast by Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Analytics. That projection assumes a two-week shutdown. If it drags into a whole month, the loss of GDP would rise to 1.4 percentage points.

3 Troops’ paychecks stopped
  About 1.4 million military active-duty personnel would keep on working, but with their paychecks delayed. Approval for troops’ paychecks is dependent on Obama’s proposed 2014 federal budget being passed by Congress.

4 Women and children’s nutrition program threatened
 Pregnant women and new moms who are poor and facing “nutrition risk” won’t be able to buy healthy food, as a looming shutdown would put bracers on the $6 billion Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC).

5 $85 billion in cuts to federal programs
When a shutdown was last threatened in March 2013, it would have resulted in $85 billion in automatic cuts in spending on federal programs – many aimed at alleviating social hardship. The cuts, known as sequestration, would affect grants to local organizations and funds that keep those programs running.

6 Housing loans halted
US federal programs that provide for about 30 percent of all new loans in the housing market – a backbone of the country’s economy – will be shut down. Government funding of new businesses will also be halted, as well as workplace health and safety inspections.

7 Trade talks scuppered?
US plans to have a Pacific trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership, signed with the US’s Asian partners could stall, as Obama may decide not to travel to this weekend’s Bali, Indonesia meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations. While he could still go if no deal is done by then, it could be a gift for his Republican opponents if Obama was seen to be jetting off to a tropical paradise at a time when federal employees were sent home without pay.

8 Visa delays likely

Thousands of Americans may not be able to get passports for foreign travel, and tourists travelling to the US will likely face delays in visa processing. During the last government shutdown in 1996-97, some 20,000-30,000 applications remained unprocessed daily.

9 Space program on hold
  Space agency NASA will be hit the most, as the agency will need to furlough about 97 percent of its employees, though it will continue to keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space Station, where the two NASA astronauts currently on board, Michael Hopkins and Karen Nyberg, may not know whether they have jobs to come back to.

10 National parks, museums and zoos would close to the public
State-funded museums, art galleries and zoos across the country would keep their doors closed Tuesday, leaving thousands of employees furloughed and visitors unable to see attractions. US national parks, from Yosemite to the Shenandoahs, as well as Washington’s National Mall, Lincoln Memorial and Constitution Gardens, would also be closed.

Comments

[Oldwood]

The three branches of government, The president, the media and the bankers, know  the economy is tanking before our eyes. The sequester and now the government shutdown are designed to focus the blame for the economic reality (soon to become public) squarely on the republicans. The pragmatists like McCain know they are fucked and as usual are looking for any cover. Resisting the shut down gives him that cover, but they are fucked anyway because the president, media and bankers will sell it that way. Saying this I still support the shutdown because without it we are still doomed but with it there is a chance that the conservative base will be motivated by it. It is the only hope we have is to get people to wake up and stand up. Politicians have pretty much convinced conservatives that to resist is futile and will likely get you labeled as a racist, hater or worse. Its about time they just got mad and said fuck it! Call me what you wish but I'm standing up and saying NO MORE! Well hopin anyway.

[matrix2012]

This kabuki show has some significance to open the eyes of some ignorant folks that the economy of the so-called the greatest paper economy in this world indeed poses some serious problem by shutting down its gubmint. In that sense this joke has its own merit, imho.

[Common_Cents22]

I think modern technology and crowdfunding could really revolutionize and replace a huge chunk of government.

Let the fatcat DC incestuous cesspool shut down and try to inflict maximum pain.  

We can step up and replace them for much of the essential govt services.   

They'd panic after realizing they arent needed anymore.