Terry said:
Vote 1 Chris.
So what's happening, the US pulling the Marines out of Japan?
No. The U.S. Governement cannot come to terms with a budget due to partisanship (i.e. one party doesn't agree with the other) on budgetary policy and cuts. The real problem is the bloated programs which EACH party wants to protect. (The Tea Party is not so much a party as it is a movement, and they're pissed too and have lot's of folks in their ranks affected.) There is so much redundancy and dead layers in the U.S. system it's unreal. Not only that, the debt owed by the U.S. is held by countries we'd consider a threat.
Sad isn't it.
What it means for guys like federal/government contractors or other personnel who are considered non essential, is that they will take a forced unpaid vaction, or furlough for a politically correct term. In the streets and in the civilian sector we call it layoffs. The personnel that will get paid no doubt is the military. Money is one of the five things you don't screw with a servicemember on.

I know, I didn't just grow up a military brat, I served. And served during time of combat as well.
I feel bad for Chris. I really do. But it is one of the many reasons I wasn't a lifer in the military. I love my country and am as conservative as they come. But sometimes enough is too much. There are problems on both sides. And neither can add. I would match any houswife with kids who has a semblance of fiduciary sense against the clowns running the country. This is also why I work to not depend on the government for anything I don't have to by law, which is why I never took a governent job when offered three times when I got out of the Army.
I don't pay attention to the talking heads. I have to digest as much information as I can take, and seek the truth for myself. We all should do the same. The truth is out there...somewhere in the middle.
Oh...and for those waiting on tax returns...if you didn't file early (like me)...don't hold your breath. That's a non-essential function of the IRS, the returns division.