"It can foul up things," says Barry Anderson, who was an Office of Management and Budget official during the 1995 government shutdown. For government employees, for example, a shutdown can mean weeks of uncertainty about when or if the next paycheck will come. For the general public, it could mean long delays in processing applications for Social Security benefits or student loans. And for politicians, it means wading into very unpredictable and therefore dangerous waters as voters react.
- See a slide show of 10 effects of a government shutdown.
- See a slide show of 10 budget and spending fights for Obama and the GOP.
- See a round-up of editorial cartoons on the budget and the deficit.
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DeeToo of SC 6:36PM February 28, 2011