Dedication and Inspiration

This video from the United State Marine Corps reminds me of the dedication and sacrifice our young men and women demonstrate every day in service to our country.  What inspires you?  

Potential Government Shutdown

Will the critical infrastructure and economy of the United States be impacted by a potential government shut-down?  


If the Federal Government were to shut down on April 8th, 2011, we can look to the last prolonged shutdown (from Dec. 16, 1995, to Jan. 6, 1996) and a report by the Congressional Research Service for potential impacts:

• Health - New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance.
• Law Enforcement and Public Safety - Delays in alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications and cancellation of federal law enforcement hiring.
• Parks, Museums, and Monuments - Closure of National Park Service sites and significant impact to tourism.
• Visas and Passports -  Applications by foreigners for visas and U.S. applications for passports went unprocessed; and U.S. tourist industries and airlines reportedly sustained millions of dollars in losses.
• American Veterans - Multiple services were curtailed, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel.

Beyond these clear impacts, there will be many ripple effects throughout the country:

• Planning - Lost productivity for planning for a possible shut-down
• Vulnerable Impact - There will be a variety of impacts on federal employees who will get furloughed and businesses who work with the federal government.  Those with the least resilience will be impacted the soonest.
• Trickle-down Effects - Further impact to the economy will be determined by the length of the shut-down and the interdependencies with impacted businesses and individuals.  

Now a bit of perspective; as I write this, the US Federal Government is threatening a shutdown as a result of disagreement over the 2011 budget. The reported dispute is 6 billion dollars. That is a lot of money until you put it in the perspective of a 3 trillion dollar budget. The disputed amount is 2 tenths of one percent.  

What will be the ultimate cost of a shutdown?  How will the economic ripples effect a US economy struggling to recover from a devastating recession?  

My update on InfraGard activities this week.