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The Capital of the Free World: Closed till further notice

Washington Post: Washingtonians worry about impact of looming government shutdown

 by , and Paul Duggan, Published: September 30 | Updated: Tuesday, October 1, 12:02 PM E-mail the writers
Washington, a company town unlike any other in America, was on the verge of grinding to a standstill late Monday. And with the factory about to be shuttered, here’s what the dawn could bring: More than 700,000 federal workers idled in and around the District; battalions of frustrated tourists locked out of museums; rush-hour commutes that feel like Sunday morning and countless worried merchants wringing their hands.

The Capital of the Free World: Closed till further notice.

Get the latest news on the budget fight and a possible government shutdown in this daily newsletter.

After a stalemate in Congress over the health-care law, the federal government shuts down for the first time in 17 years.
Matea Gold, Philip Rucker and Ed O’Keefe 12:01 PM ET

Democrats and Republicans, aware of what’s at stake in the coming messaging war, hone their strategies.

A key part of the health-care overhaul takes effect, but the law still faces challenges of historic proportions.
 
 

On Capitol’s last tour, visitors see a calm before the closure

David A. Fahrenthold 8:55 AM ET

‘This is a great teaching moment in American democracy,’ says a guide, who faced being unable to work soon.

 
 

Obama: House GOP attempting to ‘extract a ransom’

5:25 AM ET

President Obama again reprimanded House Republicans as a government shutdown looms in the immediate future, saying they are trying to use the shutdown to “extract a ransom.”

 
 

Moderate Republicans may be key to resolving fiscal drama

Rosalind S. Helderman and Ed O’Keefe 12:00 PM ET

They’re a few dozen lawmakers from swing districts and suburbs mostly in the Northeast and California.

 

Immune from the worst of a recession that battered the rest of the nation in recent years, U.S. government employees in this U.S. government town know they’ll be disproportionately impacted if nonessential federal offices and programs are shut down at midnight in the spending impasse between Congress and the White House.

“I don’t do something that keeps people alive,” said NASA employee Victoria Friedensen, 57, walking on Capitol Hill in her orange workout jacket Monday before going to work. She’s a program executive, and she and others have been told they will have to stay home if the government closes.

Friedensen had been watching news of the stalemate closely, hoping for a breakthrough. “I don’t even think our BlackBerrys will work,” Friedensen said. “For one day, that will be great!”

Then it will be difficult. The Washington area could lose up to $200 million a day if the National Zoo, Smithsonian museums and other government-funded attractions are shuttered, authorities said.

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Categories: Americas

1 reply ›

  1. Why do the Americans have nothing to worry about – in spite of their debt crises?

    Simple: They can go on printing dollars and increase their debts. Eventually one bread will cost a million dollars or even more (as it did in Germany). With the dollar becoming worthless the debts will automatically be wiped out. The losers will be those who were holding the debts, Chinese, Saudis, Emiratis. And the US can create the ‘New Dollar’ and start all over again. Like the Germans did.

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