[glatt]

It will impact several of my friends a lot. For example, one works at the Library of Congress. He and his family live pretty much paycheck to paycheck because this is an expensive area, and they bought their house at the peak of property values. They have a higher mortgage than I would feel comfortable having. The wife is a freelance writer, and is currently writing a book, but hasn't been paid for it yet. I don't know the details of their finances, but depending on how long it lasts, they could miss a few mortgage payments and be out on the street. Certainly paying other everyday expenses will be difficult.

I work in a law firm, and we are tied very closely to the courts. If the courts are closed, and they will be if there is a shut down, the cases we work on will be delayed. Our clients will expect us to slow our work down during those times. Some work can proceed, like the background stuff that's done on a case, but other work that's more directly tied to court deadlines will stop. My employer will lose money. If it goes on for too long, they will have to cut operating expenses. Probably means unpaid leave after a while. That might mean layoffs. It all depends on how long the children in Congress don't do their jobs.

The economy in this area will lose millions of dollars a day. The multiplier effect in economics is a very real thing. If your paycheck stops, are you going to go spend money? The DC region will take a hit. I imagine that will make most of the rest of the country smile, because fuck DC.

But at least I'll get a seat on Metro. (and they will raise fares in 6 months because of all the lost revenue from the missing government workers.)