We agree with S Y,N and Stormy. They should be penalized. The people not responsible are getting penalized instead. The Politian's are like royalty. Once elected have it made while the rest of us have to struggle, save and watch our wallets. However I don't think we would be better under British rule.

My Congressman sent us a letter asking us to weigh in whether we thought the Republicans are to blame or Politics as usual. I don't think he being Democrat didn't get the answer he was looking for. I let him know they should have been working on this long ago. Last year all they did was pass something to extend the funding. I don't think he wanted to hear they should be the ones going w/o a paycheck.

The problem is now this will happen over and over again, unless a law or penalty is passed or imposed.

Thank you Bignuf for starting this post. less

I think it's a huge deal. Right now, in this economy, it is not a brilliant idea to take away income from people whom are barely making ends meet to begin with. It could cause more people to default on loans and other issues and trying to get back on track. These aren't just 800,000 Federal employees taking a "vacation", these are 800,000 consumers who are not getting paid.

I don't care WHAT the reason is, this should never happen and if any of them knew they could lose their seat in Congress over it (that cushy, cushy paycheck, free parking anywhere and everywhere plus a host of other perks) then they just might get their shit together and figure something out.

For the first time in all of my life, I actually pondered if we would have been better off remaining under British rule. (Considering the Queen essentially fired the entire Australian Parliament when they couldn't figure out how to balance their budget in 1975. It never happened again.)

And like N, above me, I want my parks back. This has been a major issue of contention for me and when offered the chance to allow the parks to reopen the Republicans said "nope!". Well isn't that just lovely?

It makes me wonder if they ever step outside of their McMansions or if they've just been brainwashed by their lifestyle that they can't understand what a major blow this is. Not only on our reputation as a country to the rest of the world, but what it says about the people we've elected to begin with. It's sad. I'm very angry and extremely confused by the entire thing. less

Exactly. : /

To clarify - I voted how I did because it has happened before and does not affect me personally. I know that this will pass.

However, I don't agree with how it's being handled, and I'm incredibly tired of each side blaming the other. I don't think it's either the Republican's or Democrat's fault - I think it's BOTH of their faults and that the President is at fault as well. I find this blame game annoying- Obama really should not openly be blaming the Republicans for this. If the President is blaming the other party and claiming that they refuse to compromise, he sets an example for everybody else in Congress and allows them to do the same. Granted, I understand them - all of them are too concerned about not upsetting their voters and thus risking their seats, but time they spend blaming one another is time they're wasting! If there was some way to penalize them, we would not be going through this.

I do feel sorry for all of the employees furloughed. less

We agree with S Y,N and Stormy. They should be penalized. The people not responsible are getting penalized instead. The Politian's are like royalty. Once elected have it made while the rest of us have to struggle, save and watch our wallets. However I don't think we would be better under British rule.

My Congressman sent us a letter asking us to weigh in whether we thought the Republicans are to blame or Politics as usual. I don't think he being Democrat didn't get the answer he was looking for. I let him know they should have been working on this long ago. Last year all they did was pass something to extend the funding. I don't think he wanted to hear they should be the ones going w/o a paycheck.

The problem is now this will happen over and over again, unless a law or penalty is passed or imposed.

Thank you Bignuf for starting this post. less

Um...sorry Stormy, you are too well read and far, far too intelligent to allow misinformation to exist in your post. It was the Republicans who, in trying to stop the "Affordable Health Care Act", agreed to fund the entire government, "except that single law". It was the Democrats who torpedoed it. Then the Republicans put forth a bill to allow the government to be fully financed, except for putting a year hold on the "individual mandate". That is the same "exception" that was allowed by the administration for major groups like the Unions and large businesses. It was also knocked down. Finally, the Republicans agreed to fund things one at a time, from the parks to the NIH, etc. This too was knocked down. "We won't allow things to be done piecemeal" is what they were told. I don't care if you are a Republican or Democrat. I don't care if you think the Affordable Care Act is the most wonderful thing ever, or a horror to America. The facts are the facts. Yes, the folks on Capital Hill no longer negotiate. They "dig in". However, if you are upset about the parks and such, it is the Democrats who, in order to "inflict pain", have spent time, money and personnel to cordon off our national monuments...usually fully open, unguarded and of no cost to keep open (right there on the Mall), and it is they that have stopped every move to fund these other things, including the
Parks.

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I have been following this with great interest. less