What Does the Government Shutdown Mean for You?
“At what point do we say enough is enough, we may not like it all, but let’s do a budget that will get us through the rest of the year?”
We’re on day three of the partial federal government shutdown and members of Congress are still trying to hammer out a deal to fund the government. That’s at least for a short period of time before all this comes to a head, again. In the meantime, tens of thousands of federal workers sit at home and wait to go back to work.
And it leaves a lot of folks wondering about the state of government programs they depend on. What will this mean for people right here in Michigan?
Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson speaks with Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint Twp.), who represents Michigan’s 5th district. Kildee says the wrong voices are being empowered on the Republican side.
“There’s no way to have a legitimate debate and negotiation that gets us a bipartisan plan when the most extreme voices get to say no, even though they represent a very extreme view and a very small minority of opinion,” says Kildee.
Kildee says Democrats remain committed to reaching a deal, even if it includes aspects they don’t like.
“At what point do we say enough is enough, we may not like it all, but let’s do a budget that will get us through the rest of the year?”
Michigan State University economist Charles Ballard also joins Detroit Today to talk about the specific institutions and programs that are no longer functioning due to the shutdown, such as research grant distribution and visa and passport applications.
Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.
