On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss the real impact of a government shutdown on millions of families.
The Washington Post reports that the disruptions are expected to widen and worsen over time, even cutting potentially into programs that rely on leftover federal funding to continue operating. That includes federal aid initiatives that subsidize child care, college financial aid and access to healthy food, which would start to exhaust their dwindling reserves, leaving lower-income Americans in a bind. A handful of federal programs that people nationwide rely on — from dwindling funds for food assistance to potential delays in customer service for recipients of Medicare and Social Security — could also be disrupted. The ripple effects would come down to how long the shutdown lasts and varying contingency plans in place at impacted agencies.
According to The New York Times, at least 10 hard-right lawmakers have declared they will not vote for any stopgap measure under any circumstances, because they are opposed to funding the government — even temporarily — with a single up-or-down vote.
Guest:
Arthur Delany, HuffPost reporter who covers politics and the economy
Web Resources:
Huffington Post: Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell Facing Off In Government Shutdown Showdown
The New York Times: The Republicans Driving Congress Toward a Shutdown
The Associated Press: Government shutdown? Poor, children, elderly to be hit hardest
The Guardian: Republicans pushing for government shutdown ‘stuck on stupid’, says party moderate
USA Today: What does a federal government shutdown mean? How you and your community could be affected