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How Would A Government Shutdown Effect You?

While the U.S. Postal Service will still operate and federally funded programs such a VA benefits and Social Security could only experience delays and issues in processing new claims, the many ways that a shutdown could effect U.S. citizens' livelihoods and deal a crippling blow to our economy are looming as threats of a shutdown on Friday, April 8 grow stronger.

By midnight on this fateful Friday if the infamously divided Congress cannot pull together to agree on a budget to finish out the fiscal year, "very real effects on services the American people rely on as well as on the economy as a whole," will result from the shutdown, Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients told reporters at the White House today.

How will a shutdown effect your day-to-day life? Please share your story in the comments, below.

Sources: How Will a Federal Government Shutdown Affect Californians? By Jessica Levinson and Federal Government Shutdown 2011: Possible Effects Of A Shutdown By Dean Praetorius

Casandra Armour

1 The IRS will stop conducting audits. Not necessarily bad news, but wait, there's more....

2 800,000 federal employees could be furloughed, and likely will not receive back pay for days lapsed.

3 "Essential" federal employees, border agents, air traffic controllers, military will remain on the job without pay, but are likely to be reimbursed.

4 Veterans who received pension or disability checks may experience delays.

5 The National Park system may shut down, creating loss in revenue and lost wages for parks personnel, as well as effecting travel/hospitality employees.

6 The Small Business Administration and other organizations to aid small businesses, would stop approving business loan guarantees.

7 The Federal Housing Administration will stop guaranteeing new mortgages.

8 Passports and visas will not be attainable. This would be a huge blow to the travel and airline industries.

9 Census data, data on worker's legal status, economic issues like commodity prices, to geological surveys data will all cease to be collected.

10 Social Security and Medicare checks will still arrive, but new applications for claims and cards may go unprocessed.

11 The 30% who still file their taxes via paper forms may experience a delay in refunds.

12 Taxpayers will lose out: The last shutdown cost taxpayers $800 million in 1995.

13 Child support and bankruptcy cases will go on the back-burner during a shut down.

14 Hiring, recruitment and testing and processing in police departments will be effected.

15 Environment programs are halted, About.com notes that toxic waste clean-up was even suspended during the last shutdown.

16 Federally funded museums would close during a shut down.

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How Would A Government Shutdown Effect You?

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