What happens now

IN shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep working. During the last shutdown, in October 2013, more than 800,000 federal employees were furloughed. While there is no guarantee government workers will be paid for this leave, historically they have been paid retroactively in the case of a shutdown. Even if they are paid, the nation will experience “lost productivity” from almost a million people

How will people be affected

NATIONAL parks, museums and monuments are expected to shut down, as will the processing of passports and visas if the shutdown continues beyond a few days. Another indirect loss will be to contractors. Over $43bn has been awarded in contracts for the fiscal year 2018. None of this money will be paid as long as the shutdown continues. That will remove a fair amount of money from the pockets of private citizens throughout the country. However, certain entitlements, such as hospitals for and food stamps for families in need, would be unaffected.

Previous shutdowns

IN the case of the 16-day 2013 shutdown, Republicans and Democrats were at odds over funding then-President Obama’s landmark healthcare law, known as Obamacare, and the US “debt ceiling,” which allows the US Treasury to continue borrowing to pay debts. There was a 27-day shutdown from December 1995 to January 1996, resulting from a clash between Republicans and Democrats over funding a health insurance programme for the elderly. That came a month after a November shutdown that lasted four days. Before these examples, shutdowns were rare.