The United States Government, the most powerful institution in the history of this blue planet that we call home, is days away from shutting down because of a few house members who seemingly do not care about the lives of millions of Americans unless their demands are met. Here is why the hypothetical 22nd government shutdown in history is bad.

First, let us get the cause of this out of the way: Five GOP house members will not vote “yes” on the new budget proposal. These five are Marjorie Taylor Greene, Dan Bishop, Matt Rosendale, Andy Biggs, and Eli Crane. They are doing so seemingly because they would rather see a lapse of funding (and therefore a government shutdown) than to compromise with the other side. 

It is also possible they are doing this on the whim of a certain former president, who posted a variety of angry rants to their social media website Truth Social, calling for the Republicans to “never compromise unless they get everything” and to “end the border crisis, weaponization of ‘justice’, and election interference”.

Now, why would a government shutdown be bad? First off, four million people who are employed by the federal government will cease having paychecks sent to them. This will be terrible for these millions of people, and could have an effect on the nation’s economy. It should also be noted that congress passed a law that allows them to continue being paid in the event of a government shutdown. 

There is also the fact that many government services will be shut down or operate at a greatly reduced capacity. These include air traffic controllers, TSA agents, the National Park Service, passport offices, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, OSHA, the Department of Labor, Head Start (A federal program for preschool children from low-income families), the Military, and law enforcement agencies.

I do not think I have to explain why all of these agencies, departments, and services shutting down or operating at reduced capacity would be bad. It will have a multi-million dollar effect on the economy, it will leave those who need assistance without it, the environment and workplaces with reduced regulations, travel services will be even more strained than they already are, crime will increase in the absence of federal law enforcement, and of course, the world will plunge into even more chaos with the reduced presence of the United States Military.

So, what can you do to possibly avert a shutdown? Well, I’ve put all of the congress people that are opposing the budget and their office contact information at the bottom of this article. Maybe try giving them a call. Who knows, somebody might pick up. Otherwise, the most you can do is prepare financially for this looming crisis, which is potentially catastrophic with a divided GOP, presidential impeachment trial, and a high-stakes presidential election all sitting as the background for this.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Washington D.C. Office: (202) 225-5211

Dan Bishop

Washington D.C. Office: (202) 225-1976

Matt Rosendale

Washington D.C. Office: (202) 225-3211

Andy Biggs

Washington D.C. Office: (202) 225-2635

Eli Crane

Washington D.C. Office:  (202) 225-3361