American shutdown

[Parker231]

Trump is an idiot but his actions over the shutdown are unbelievable. 800,00 employees have received no pay since 22 December and others are having to work but unpaid. What a stupid system that allows one irrational man to cause so much worry for workers who now have no money for bills or food. It’s operating as a third world country and all over a wall which some are saying it would be illegal to build anyway!

I agree. The only possible good thing is that maybe, just maybe, he’ll lose a lot of fans over this.
He is the most appalling buffoon who has made his country a laughing stock.

He's an absolute disaster and should never ever have been elected as president. Let's hope he is either impeached or doesn't win re election next year.

I think Chump will win this one, actually (I don't want him to).

Before the Republicans in House wouldn't approve the crazy wall spending. But T couldn't make that obvious, that his party leaders hate him. Now T can blame the democrats for the impasse, can win by risking it now. His base will love T more than ever, his opponents can't hate him any more & the rest will blame everybody.

He is an utter disgrace and a tosser. I wish he had never been able to run for the presidency, let alone get elected to it.

I keep living in hope that one day he might be impeached and removed from office. Well, I can dream anyway.

JUst read that he has said he will keep the federal agencies closed for years if necessary and that he is proud of the actions he is taking. The UK has huge problems with Brexit but they don’t give so much power to one person. I can’t imagine a system where you can be expected to work, without pay and no timescale as to when the situation will be resolved. Bring back Obama!

Could someone please explain (as though you were telling a small child) what the shutdown is/ means? I've looked into DM articles, Wikipedia etc thinking they'll break it down in layman's terms but I don't know anything about how American politics work so I'm still clueless? I know Trump wants his wall and the rest of the government say no but on threads on here about it there seems to be an effect on welfare etc but Wiki is saying that it's just national parks etc where staff aren't being paid so they're either open with skeleton staff or closed. (Of course I understand that people not working because they're not going to be paid is a big deal but I don't understand why they won't be paid.)
I don't want to hijack the thread so please ignore me if it'd derail it!

They almost certainly will get all their backpay even if they didn't go to work, but not for weeks... or months, Trump is threatening. Most people live paycheck to paycheck, so many now can't even afford childcare or gas to let them go to work.

TSA (airport security) & Coast guard (part of border security) staff are among those expected to work without knowing when their pay will arrive. Damages have been awarded in past for these situations.

He is insane. It's quite terrifying.

@Stickmanslittleleaf try this www.thebalance.com/government-shutdown-3305683

Essentially the American government programme of spending is agreed annually but because of the different elements of government being controlled by different parties and all elements needing to agree to the final spending bill the bill can be delayed. Without the bill the government cannot pay out any finances which are agreed by the bill (there are some things which are not included and some which are protected as critical which will continue). Any service therefore requiring this funding to pay its staff will - once it runs out of reserves, lay people off. I'm not quite sure how it works with those still expected to work as they wont get paid either. In the end they will likely get paid and compensated but that cannot happen until the government agrees the spending bill.
It usually occurs over big political issues - eg the wall or the last one was Obamacare.

@GhostSauce He is insane. It's quite terrifying

I agree 100%, which is why my DH and I didn't vote for him. He is the biggest con artist that has ever been elected into office.

He makes me so uneasy that I have to take week long breaks in between reading about him. I fear for my country because of him, and for the lasting damage that he has created, and who knows how long it will take to for it to be rectified. Especially, if that bastard wins again in 2020.
I no longer recognize the country I was born into, and it makes me very sad and terrified for our future. The little consolation I have, is that I know in my heart that I'm not on the wrong side of history. I hope that those who support him now, will see the error of their ways in the future when the realize they picked the wrong horse. I'm not holding my breath though, because human beings have a tendency to not admit when they've made a mistake. We shall see.

DH and I have (almost) decided to leave the UK post Brexit. We’ve both lived in the UK most of our lives but aren’t British. I hold a Belgian passport and DH and DC’s Canadian. DH suggested we move to the US ( his DSis and her family live in the US and his parents in Canada). I said give me one good reason we would want to live in the US with Trump as President and the country on a downwards. DH has agreed that the US is off the list of possible countries to relocate to. A great country for a holiday but I couldn’t live there.