On October 1, the federal government shut down and is failing to pay federal workers as a result of the congress’ failure to pass an appropriation legislation or a budget for the 2026 fiscal year. With the stalemate still in effect, and the Senate leaving town till Tuesday Oct. 14, when workers will get paid is unknown. Many families struggle to support themselves and go into a time of scarce spending and strict budgeting.
“My mom really had to cut back on [her] hours and started to make food from home a lot, because it was a lot cheaper than going out,” CKHS Junior Emma Phillips said. “The other day she said that we have to actually, watch the money.”
Throughout this time, families and workers are having to tip toe around their spending. Whether they have multiple mouths to feed or just one, a time such as this is leaving people with little wiggle room in their budget. Many families have been forced to take from savings or emergency funds, money that is usually used for unexpected life occurrences, but is now being used for simple life expenses, such as groceries.
“You gotta worry about what you’re spending your money on, even more than before, as well as you don’t know when the next paycheck is gonna come in,” USS Kentucky Sonar Technician Andre Mills said. “So hopefully, you have saved up for an emergency fund.”
When a government shutdown happens, this does not mean the United States has no government at all. A “shutdown” in this case means the people in congress can not come to an agreement on where money should be allocated to. When this happens the two parties are fighting for something to change; with the Republican party currently dominant, the Democratic party is pushing for fewer cuts to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the Republicans are resisting. To buy extra time, the government will temporarily suspend payment to federal workers, like active duty military members.
“One party or the other tries to use this as leverage to try to get something, or get something added, a concession from the other party,” CKHS AP United States Government teacher Robert Smithrud said. “Right now republicans have a majority in both houses, in congress and the white house, or the presidency for that matter.”
This disagreement between the two sides means that federal employees and their families are affected now that an income source is being halted. There are many theories on how to avoid an event such as this, but none have been put into practice. Some people believe that if the government were to organize their money in a way where they would be able to pay federal workers, then maybe an event like this wouldn’t happen and families wouldn’t be left in the dust.
“I don’t know all the information, but from what I do know, I just feel like there might be a better solution than not paying the people who are defending the country and their families,” Phillips said. “Because our families are also getting affected. I know that there are some single sailors…and they don’t get affected as much, but for people with big families, because I know my friend, she has a family of six, it’s really affecting them hardcore. And I just think there might be a better solution. I think maybe if we really look, there might be a better solution other than cutting down or not paying the people who are defending the country at all.”
The suspension of pay doesn’t just affect families, it can also have an effect on the community, especially here in Kitsap County, where a lot of people work in or for the military. Without money coming in, these people tend not to spend their money in places that aren’t essential. Grocery stores will still likely get their usual business, but smaller stores like in Poulsbo or Old-Town Silverdale will likely see a hit to income due to less customers.
“It hurts people economically,” Smithrud said. “But in the short term, it does impact people now. Historically, people that got furloughed, once the either continuing resolution or a new budget is passed, historically the government has paid those people anyway, even if they got laid off temporarily. But again. that’s not required by law, they just have done that. And so hopefully they will do that this time, but we don’t know. So as you know, that leaves people in kind of a limbo, right? I’m not sure what’s going to happen or what the future is going to look like.”
