Shut down

The federal government has been shut down for more than a week because our representatives bargain as well as toddlers. Here are some of the programs that are casualties of the Republican temper tantrum.

National parks and monuments
All national parks, monuments and museums will close due to the government shutdown and will remain closed until it lifts.
This, of course, is setting off a string of furloughs and hurt feelings because 800,000 government employees will go without pay until the shutdown ends.
It is estimated that communities around Yellowstone, like Gardiner, Mont., which relies heavily on tourism, could lose up to $30 million depending on the duration of the shutdown.

Head start
Head Start serves low-income children and their families, providing health and wellness education and access to other community resources. It also allows parents time to work or look for work. It acts as a special kind of preschool that aims to close the gap between poor and wealthy students on the first day of kindergarten.
Though Indiana Head Start won’t be affected unless the shutdown continues into November, about 19,000 children in classrooms across the country have suffered because our representatives wanted to make a political statement.
For the past week, these children have gone without child care, without health care and in some cases, without proper nutrition.

WIC
The supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children stopped receiving funding last Tuesday. The USDA estimated that WIC could make its remaining funds last about a week.
So, right about now, more than 8.9 million mothers nationwide living at or below the poverty line are losing vouchers for healthy food and infant formula, access to nutrition education and other health care resources.
WIC usually serves about 53 percent of infants in the U.S. Now, none of those infants have access to WIC’s support.
Grocery stores are also worried they won’t be reimbursed for the WIC vouchers they accept, meaning that soon, some stores might choose not to accept them.

But congress is still in session
Many are up in arms, with good reason, about the continued payment of Congress members. On average, they make $174,000 a year and will receive paychecks throughout the shutdown.
Per the 27th Amendment, no changes can be made to Congress’s salary in a non-election season. However, many Congress members recognize the injustice of the situation — the furloughing of more than 800,000 workers and the damage done to areas affected economically by the shutdown. They are sending their checks to charities or not-for-profit organizations.
Let’s hope some of this good will translate into better policies that will put our government back in business.