Josh and Joshettes today’s post is one that hits upon the crisis that is affecting the United States of America. Normally I shy away from writing about political issues, but it’s time to break that habit. So let’s dive into the current government shutdown.

For those of you reading this post that don’t live in the USA, since late December, the government has been shut down. This basically means that if you work for the government you are more than likely not getting paid. But Josh, you don’t work for the government, why are you affected by this shutdown. That is true I don’t work for the government but this shutdown still affects me. Right now at my job a common issue with my customers right now is that they haven’t received their monthly income from the government. Since they don’t have direct deposit they have not received their check. Depending on how long this shutdown lasts, anyone on social security or disability even those on direct deposit might not receive their income for the month of February. Which means my father may not receive any income next month which means I would have to help him out financially.

If you have read my content for some time then you should know I am going to have surgery on my shoulder. Which means I’m going to receive income from the government (in my case the state). But that’s not how the shutdown will directly affect me. Right now the MTA ( NYC’s transportation system ie buses and trains) is barely able to operate and may not be running in another couple of weeks. Personally, that’s not a big deal for me because I work to work and have walked all the way to the city and back before. The only thing is my family and friends don’t all have this luxury. Another thing this shut down might affect is our income tax return. Many people rely on their income tax returns to pay bills, debt, or use it for a large purchase. Fortunately, I don’t rely on my income tax return to pay my bills but it’s still nice to have.

As you can see The Shutdown doesn’t really affect me but it does affect many others. In NYC public assistance, WIC and food stamps are taking a major hit. These are programs that many people on a fixed income rely on. The cost of living here is high and these programs can help people who make less than twenty thousand a year sustain themselves. Let’s forget about the people who rely on the government assistance to live, how about people who work for the government? Right now some workers are either unable to work or are working without pay. Even though they have no income coming in they still have to pay their bills. Every day I see a post come up on my news feed about people getting behind on their mortgages because of the shutdown.

So what can we do to help? Actually, nothing and that’s the problem. It’s too late to do anything now which is why it’s important to have an emergency fund (3-6 months of expenses saved up). The only thing we can do now is to learn from this experience so in the future we won’t be taken by surprise.