Republicans and Democrats unable to agree on budget, shutdown coming? Good or bad?

In the ongoing circus that has now become Washington DC the likelihood of a shutdown is growing, with two days left for a meaningful decision.   I call it a circus because the idea that some of our smartest Americans cannot decide on whether to cut 61 or 31 or 12 Billion in the face of a 1.5+ Trillion budget deficit is silly.

Yet what is being lost in the face of this posturing is whether a shutdown is actually a good idea.  Let me tell you right now, that nobody stands to benefit from a shutdown other than maybe Obama himself.  This is probably why he chose to decline on yet another continuing resolution, my guess is that he studied Clinton's amazing poll numbers after the 1996 shutdown and concluded that it might be a worthy gamble.  He already alienated his base and he has failed to win over anyone on the right, so he is figuring if he makes Boehner out to be Gingrich 2.0 then he stands to benefit.  Right now the public perception is that if the GOP is in full control of the House, then whatever happens is entirely their doing, at least that is what it seems like, one can never be too sure of what the elusive public perception.

In any event, here is a very important article for your enjoyment that illustrates the pains of a Government shutdown.  Not only does it stand to boost Obama's numbers, but it will actually cost the taxpayer millions of dollars, possibly becoming billions depending on the length of the shutdown.

The most painful pill to swallow is the idea of paying federal workers for jobs they will not be doing, just like it happened in 1996.

The Costs of Government ShutdownsThe first of the two government shutdowns in 1995-1996 lasted only six days, from November 14 to November 20. Following the six-day shutdown, the Clinton administration released an estimate of what the six days of an idled federal government had cost.

• Lost Dollars:
 The six-day shutdown cost taxpayers about $800 million, including $400 million to furloughed federal employees who were paid, but did not report to work and another $400 million in lost revenue in the four days that the IRS enforcement divisions were closed.

Inconvenienced Citizens

• Medicare:
 Some 400,000 newly eligible Medicare recipients were delayed in applying for the program.

• Social Security:
 Claims from 112,000 new Social Security applicants were not processed. 212,000 new or replacement Social Security cards were not issued. 360,000 office visits were denied. 800,000 toll-free calls for information were not answered.

• Healthcare:
 New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance and hotline calls to NIH concerning diseases were not answered.

• Environment:
 Toxic waste clean-up work at 609 sites stopped as 2,400 Superfund workers were sent home.

• Law Enforcement and Public Safety:
 Delays occurred in the processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases reportedly was suspended; cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal law enforcement officials reportedly occurred, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents; and delinquent child-support cases were delayed.

• US Veterans:
 Multiple veterans' services were curtailed, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel.

• Travel:
 80,000 passport applications were delayed. 80,000 visas were delayed. The resulting postponement or cancellation of travel cost U.S. tourist industries and airlines millions of dollars.

• National Parks:
 2 million visitors were turned away from the nation's national parks resulting in the loss of millions in revenue.

• Government-backed Loans:
 FHA mortgage loans worth more than $800 million to more than 10,000 low-and-moderate-income working families were delayed.

To make matters worse, if they are not bad enough already, the media is reporting that soldier pay could be suspended in the event of a shutdown.  Regardless of whether you believe our soldiers should be at home right now, soldiers are not protected by the same union rights that civilian workers are and would be forced to work without pay even if they suddenly develop a strong urge to retire to their barracks.