I'm still trying to figure out this government shutdown. It makes very little sense to me. The flow of money into the IRS hasn't been affected. Congress seems to think it doesn't affect them since they keep scheduling junkets at taxpayer expense. All of the "essential" services of the government continue uninterrupted. It is only those things deemed "unessential" that are not currently being funded. So, what happens to the "money" that should have been going to fund those things? Does it just pile up somewhere?
Of course, there isn't any money piling up somewhere because our government spends more than it brings in. So, does that mean they just aren't borrowing as much at the moment? The savings in interest on that debt could be a fairly sizable amount.
The impasse between the political parties really only affects a small percentage of government expenditures. The estimated 800,000 employees who are not currently receiving a paycheck are political pawns. That's a lot of votes. Any bets they get a raise when this is all over? They are a significant block of votes whose loyalty is subject to being bought by their political masters. Not all of them, but enough of them.
Total budgeted federal expenditures in 2017 were $3.7 Trillion ($2.5 T "mandatory" and $1.2 T "discretionary"). Revenue was projected at $3.3 Trillion -- a deficit of $400,000,000,000. The issue according to Congressional leadership is the request from the President for $5.7 Billion to build a wall on our southern border. That is 0.154% of the total expenditures for 2017. If you compare that to an annual household budget of $36,000 (expenditures, not gross income) that equates to $55.44.
800,000 employees are being held for ransom over the equivalent of $55.44. That is what our government has come to. It is time for something to change.
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