Who Will, Won’t and Might be Affected by U.S. Government Shutdown

*They WILL BE affected by the shutdown:

• 40% of public workers, about 800,000 people, won’t be getting their paychecks. They still need to pay their rent and food, though.
• Tourists: 368 national parks and museums are closed. No visits to Miss Liberty in New York or to the free Smithsonian collections in Washigton.
• Businesses who depend on tourists
• New patients won’t be accepted at National Institutes of Health.
• Construction workers: safety and health inspectors will not be carrying out inspections unless there is an emergency.
• Gun permits won’t be issued because the shutdown the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• The whole economy. A shutdown doesn’t come cheap. According to the Congressional Research Service, the two previous ones -1995 and 1996- cost the country $1.4 billion. Brian Kessler, economist with Moody’s Analytics estimates that a 3-4 week shutdown would cost the economy about $55 billion, CNN reports.

*They WILL NOT BE affected by the shutdown:

• The Affordable Care Act, that is Obamacare, will still be implemented, starting this Tuesday Oct 1, since it isn’t directly tied to funding the government.
• An estimated two-thirds of the government — the “essential functions” — will continue operating.
• Workers in “critical services”: air traffic controllers, hazardous waste handlers and food inspectors.
• U.S. troops.

*They MIGHT be affected:

• Passports: If the State Department uses up outside funds. That can affect tourism and airline revenues too.
• Markets will assess the impact, but we don’t know to what extent yet. Many in Wall Street believe the direct hit should be minimal to the factors that drive stocks.
• Politics’ sex-appeal. Americans are tired of the Congress’ circus.
• America’s image abroad. “It is a dangerous message to the world,” Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said. In his view, the shutdown gives the United States a black eye.
• The old Republican Party. For the freshmen, the Tea Party members, the shutdown might be a victory, a proof of their power inside the GOP, although more moderate Republicans are becoming hostages of their radical positions.