Here we go again...

[AlexMichaels]

The shutdown now has the potential of hurting kids all across the country - http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/education/clark-county-school-district-draws-emergency-funding-cover-free-lunches

 

This whole thing is very sad. I hope it ends soon - both the shutdown and this crazy system of things!!!

wow.. Didn't realize how much the government shut down will affect some... I hope they can agree on something soon..  

[AlexMichaels]

I'm sorry to hear that - I wish I could help and I know that sounds superficial, but I really do mean it.

 

 

 

Some poor it will help and some it will not. The taxes are both "progressive" (aimed at rich people) and "regressive" (aimed at the middle class and poor people). Most of the new taxes hit you no matter how much you're making. In the movie The Princess Bride there is a part in the movie where one of the characters says "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." That's kind of how it is with the "affordable care act." It's not what you think it is. There is going to be a shockingly large number of poor single people that will be hurt by it.

 

There are the The Taxes & Subsidies these bills will require low and middle income workers to pay a percentage of their income toward this mandatory health insurance. The percentage paid will rise as the workers income rises thus consuming a larger share of each additional dollar earned. This tax also rises with the average growth rate of health insurance premiums completely independent of income. Therefore, a workers yearly income could go down while the cost of the insurance goes UP. One of many problems for the poor in the new plan.

 

Some brothers and sisters MIGHT do better healthcare wise, and I hope you and yours are one of them, with this new "affordable care act" many others will hurt because of it - I'm glad I'm not the one in charge of that decision. I'm very in favor of Jehovah's health plan.

 

 

I know there are many variables to the whole situation.. Mostly I didn't pay attention to it at all except what I've heard mentioned on the news.. So I just did a little poking around to see how it would affect me..  Still not sure how it will affect my taxes all together.. I know I pay a BUNCH out just to SS.. but not as much to Federal....I do need to be able to go to the dr and so does my husband... I'm having sugar issues lately.. that most likely need medication to control.. Like you said though it's not a good situation for anyone. only Jehovah can bring about the changes we need.. I wish there was a solution for everyone, unfortunately that's not going to be until Jehovah steps in.. 

[Jordan]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/wheres-sense-of-crisis-in-a-17-percent-government-shutdown/article/2536862

 

Where's sense of crisis in a 17% government shutdown?

Everyone knows the phrase "government shutdown" doesn't mean the entire U.S. government is shut down. So in a partial government shutdown, like the one underway at the moment, how much of the government is actually shut down, and how much is not?

 

 

One way to measure that is in how much money the government spends. In a conversation Thursday, a Republican member of Congress mentioned that the military pay act, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama at the beginning of the shutdown, is actually a huge percentage of the government's discretionary spending in any given year. And that is still flowing. So if you took that money, and added it to all the entitlement spending that is unaffected by a shutdown, plus all the areas of spending that are exempted from a shutdown, and added it all together, how much of the federal government's total spending is still underway even though the government is technically shut down?

 

 

I asked a Republican source on the Senate Budget Committee for an estimate. This was the answer: "Based on estimates drawn from CBO and OMB data, 83 percent of government operations will continue. This figure assumes that the government pays amounts due on appropriations obligated before the shutdown ($512 billion), spends $225 billion on exempted military and civilian personnel, pays entitlement benefits for those found eligible before the shutdown (about $2 trillion), and pays interest costs when due ($237 billion). This is about 83 percent of projected 2014 spending of $3.6 trillion."

 

 

So the government shutdown, at least as measured by money spent, is really a 17 percent government shutdown. Perhaps that is why the effects of the shutdown, beyond some of the most visible problems, like at the monuments and memorials on the Washington Mall, don't seem to have the expected intensity. Seventeen percent of federal expenditures is still a huge amount of money, and the shutdown is affecting many people. But many more who are dependent on federal dollars are still receiving their money, either as salary, transfer payment, or in some other form. Viewed that way, it's no wonder both Republicans and Democrats appear to believe they can last the shutdown out, at least for a couple of weeks until they try to resolve the debt limit crisis due to arrive October 17.

 

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pentagon-to-recall-most-furloughed-workers-hagel-says/2013/10/05/eb7ed346-2deb-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

 

Pentagon to recall most furloughed workers, Hagel says.

 

The Pentagon will recall almost all of its 350,000 furloughed civilian workers in the coming days, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Saturday, in a move that could substantially ease the impact of the government shutdown on the federal workforce.

 

So scare tactics aren't working like they thought...

Edited October 6, 2013 by Jordan

[Jordan]

And here's how ridiculous it gets to push their point. The government closes the Ocean because with out the Government you can't go to the beach or swim in the ocean.

 

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/05/Feds-Try-to-Close-the-OCEAN-Because-of-Shutdown

 

Feds Try to Close the OCEAN Because of Shutdown.

 

Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was "closed" due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles of open ocean. Fishing is also prohibited at Biscayne National Park during the shutdown. 

 

The Park Service will also have rangers on duty to police the ban... of access to an ocean. The government will probably use more personnel and spend more resources to attempt to close the ocean, than it would in its normal course of business. 

 

This is governing by temper-tantrum. It is on par with the government's ham-fisted attempts to close the DC WWII Memorial, an open-air public monument that is normally accessible 24 hours a day. By accessible I mean, you walk up to it. When you have finished reflecting, you then walk away from it. 

 

 

At least that Memorial is an actual structure, with some kind of perimeter that can be fenced off. Florida Bay is the ocean. How, pray tell, do you "close" 1,100 square miles of ocean? Why would one even need to do so?

 

 

Apparently, according to an anonymous Park Service ranger, “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.” 

 

 

Centuries ago, King Canute famously failed to command the ocean tide to stop. His display was actually a means to educate his subjects on the limits of royal power. Today, however, our President actually believes he has the power to control the oceans.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Jordan

[trottigy]

As it is always the lower paid people who have to pay for the higher ups - my first thought is 17% of the money pays for more than 20% of the people.

1 in 5 people no longer working at any company is HUGE! But for those putting Kingdom interests first - the Great God has promised to se to their needs. My prayers go to him for their succor.

[AlexMichaels]

And here's how ridiculous it gets to push their point. The government closes the Ocean because with out the Government you can't go to the beach or swim in the ocean.

 

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/05/Feds-Try-to-Close-the-OCEAN-Because-of-Shutdown

 

Feds Try to Close the OCEAN Because of Shutdown.

 

Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was "closed" due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles of open ocean. Fishing is also prohibited at Biscayne National Park during the shutdown. 

 

The Park Service will also have rangers on duty to police the ban... of access to an ocean. The government will probably use more personnel and spend more resources to attempt to close the ocean, than it would in its normal course of business. 

 

This is governing by temper-tantrum. It is on par with the government's ham-fisted attempts to close the DC WWII Memorial, an open-air public monument that is normally accessible 24 hours a day. By accessible I mean, you walk up to it. When you have finished reflecting, you then walk away from it. 

 

 

At least that Memorial is an actual structure, with some kind of perimeter that can be fenced off. Florida Bay is the ocean. How, pray tell, do you "close" 1,100 square miles of ocean? Why would one even need to do so?

 

 

Apparently, according to an anonymous Park Service ranger, “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.” 

 

 

Centuries ago, King Canute famously failed to command the ocean tide to stop. His display was actually a means to educate his subjects on the limits of royal power. Today, however, our President actually believes he has the power to control the oceans.

 

 

Wow.. that's just insane.... I suppose I can understand national parks and things like that.. but the Beach?? really? half of those don't have anyone there watching people in the first place.. why add some.. That defeats the purpose.. 

[Jordan]

Wow.. that's just insane.... I suppose I can understand national parks and things like that.. but the Beach?? really? half of those don't have anyone there watching people in the first place.. why add some.. That defeats the purpose.. 

 

It's got to really "feel" like a shut down or it doesn't work... It would be wrong if people knew that we could get by with less spending and government.

[Jordan]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/6/national-park-rangers-ordered-to-keep-visitors-out/

 

Here's another little game they are putting on people to help them feel the "pain" from shutting down -- it's criminal but hey .. all's fair.

 

National Park rangers ordered to keep visitors out of privately run businesses.

The National Park Service has closed privately run marinas, restaurants and inns throughout the country and in some cases even posted guards to keep people from using them during the government shutdown, arguing that it doesn’t have the money, manpower or authority to let them operate.

 

But the moves, which likely have thrown thousands of people out of work, are drawing scrutiny from Congress and don’t rest well with many voters who believe the administration is making the effects of the shutdown worse than necessary.

 

On Friday, the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina decided it would buck the Park Service’s order and remain open — only to find park rangers come and block the driveway to the inn to prevent anyone from entering. The parkway itself remained open, but the administration said all concessions in national parks must shut.

“I’m questioning their authority to shut me,” Pisgah Inn owner Bruce O'Connell told The Washington Times on Friday as he fought to stay open.

 

Several congressional committees have said they would look into the Park Service’s decisions, accusing the Obama administration of trying to make the shutdown as painful as possible for Americans.

 

In the meantime, Americans across the country have embraced the chance to flout the closures as a defiant act of civil disobedience.

 

The Internet has been flooded with photos of people going around traffic cones and vehicle barricades to get to parking lots, bicycle paths and hiking trails.

 

Still, campgrounds, ski areas and basic services have been closed at all parks, the monuments the Park Service runs in Washington have been barricaded, and rangers are doing their best to keep folks away.

 

In Philadelphia, the park closures have shuttered the City Tavern.

On Cape Cod, the Nauset Knoll Motor Lodge is closed.

 

But not all private companies on park land have been shut down. Two high-profile places in San Francisco, the Argonaut Hotel in San Francisco Maritime National Park and Cavallo Point, a luxury hotel in Golden Gate National Park, are open.

The Park Service says those are operating under lease agreements rather than as concessions, which means they are allowed to stay open.

 

“Concessions operations are required to close; leases are permitted to remain open,” Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the parks, said in an email to The Washington Times.

 

The discrepancies are difficult for some to understand.

One man wondered why Skyline Drive, the road running through Shenandoah National Park, was closed but the Blue Ridge Parkway remained open.

 

 

In the Washington region, the George Washington Parkway is open for traffic, and the bike trail that runs alongside the Potomac for much of the road is also getting heavy use — but the Park Service has barricaded the parking lots, leaving visitors to park on nearby streets and cross through traffic to get to the path.

 

Other federal land agencies have taken different routes. The Army Corps of Engineers, for example, has said some of its concessionaires can remain open.

 

Although some Army Corps marinas are open, the Park Service has shut down all of its marinas.

“We consider the National Park system to be a single entity, and without an appropriation, the entire system is closed and cannot reopen until funding is restored,” said Mr. Litterst, the parks spokesman. “We do not believe it is appropriate or feasible to have some parts of the system open while others are closed to the public.”

 

Mr. Litterst also said that the 3,000 employees still on the job are needed to protect safety and property, and can’t staff “visitor services” such as campgrounds.

 

Mr. O’Connell, who runs the Pisgah Inn, said he never received a certified letter or even a call from the park superintendent telling him to close, but rather got an email from someone in the park business office.

Other concessions had similar stories.

 

Mr. O'Connell said his workers are not federal employees, and his fire, police and rescue services all come from the county, so he isn’t drawing any federal funds. Indeed, the rangers posted at his driveway to turn away patrons Friday likely used more resources — and made it tougher for them to respond to an actual emergency had one occurred elsewhere on the parkway, he said.

 

Derrick A. Crandall, a counselor at the National Park Hospitality Association, an organization for park concessionaires, said the Park Service is showing less leniency this time than it did during the 1995 and 1996 shutdowns.

 

“Last time around, we saw some superintendents that tended to recognize hardship and perhaps be a little more forgiving of hard deadlines, just attempting to make sure any special needs were accommodated,” he said. “This year, from what I’m being told, there were some superintendents who acted to shut down ops before the Thursday 6 p.m. deadline.”

He said his organization plans to sit down with the Park Service and ask about trying to find “creative ways” to let the concessionaires get back up and running.

 

House Republicans have passed a bill that would open the national parks, but President Obama has vowed to veto it. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said either all of the government must be funded or none of it will be funded.

 

[zoebarry]

This system is such a joke.

[trottigy]

My favorite idea was - pay all those workers to do nothing! (Sarcasm intended) That will really help the budget

PS - they did pass a bill to do just that. Once this "shutdown " is over, those workers will get paid.

Why not just open things back up and let them work too - while they work through a solution. I just don't get it.

[surfergirl]

So Sorry friends. Isn't part of the National anthem song a line...speaks about the land of the free? Sounds like democracy is washed out to the ocean.

I can under stand a national park closed incase a fire broke out.

But to shut a beach & some hotels. Cafes. Thats just wrong.

If people are not allowed to go to work. Why should they have to stay at home. Might as well go enjoy youself.

What was that movie with Mel Gibson. He said you can take away our homes but you can't take away our freedom. .

[ava]

Yesterday I was driving to work, early in the morning, nothing but news talk on the radio.

 

One station was discussing the shut down of the Govt.  Apparently, in the US Congress and US Senate, the Fed Govt has paid clergy.  These men are available for bible studies, prayers, counsel/encouragement to members of Congress and Senate and their staff.  Due to the Govt. Shutdown, they are not allowed to work at this time.

 

Well one of the paid clergy, a Seventh Day Adventist, asked if he could give a prayer over the members of Congress, without pay of course, lol.  He was told he could.

 

The radio station played part of his prayer, and wow, I'm shocked.  He said something like "Our God in Heaven, I ask of you today to empower these men and women to reach a conclusion that will bring your country, the US, back to work.  Give these men and women your power so they can work through their differences so your chosen country can once again stand glorious before you"

 

Ok, I'm listening to this on the radio, and I just wanted to throw up!

 

I know people in this country believe God chose the US, but hearing it, well that was just weird.  I have family members, die hard republicans, who truly believe that the US is God's Country.

 

 All I want to know is, if the US is God's Country, then why is there a disagreement over the budget?  I mean, if this is God's country, shouldn't everything in this country be running smoothly?  Wouldn't this be the perfect place to live if it was God's Country?  No, instead this country is a mess!!!!

 

 If these people really knew their bibles and really knew God, they would know that God does not approve of war, killing of millions of people, homelessness, people starving in their own country, etc.

 

Just had to share.

[Musky]