Congressional masseuses will still be reporting to work if government shuts down
This may come as a surprise to people, but if Congress doesn’t approve a budget, the only people who will suffer from the government shutting down are the rest of us who aren’t in Congress. Turns out that the last time the government shut down because of a budget problem (December 16, 1995 to January 6, 1996), well, the government declared that certain sectors of the government could continue working and would continue getting paid. Guess which sectors they were. Yep. Congress and everyone who works for Congress. In other words, if they act like poffy hairdressers and decide to take their balls and go home, the only people who will suffer will be the rest of the country.
When they shut down government, they closed national parks, stopped paying for veteran services and made it impossible to obtain a passport. Also, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stopped monitoring potential outbreaks of worrisome diseases. Turns out, Congress members are pretty much the only people who are considered important enough to keep working. And they did by doing absolutely nothing because they couldn’t get along long enough to put together a budget. So, they basically got paid for doing nothing. Kind of a comforting thought, if you think about it.
So, if Congress decides to cut off the government again, expect a lot of services you need to be shut down but any services that make those in power happy, well, they’ll still be running just fine. You might not be able to go to a national park or if you’re a veteran, you’ll probably have to hold in that desire to feel pain from a war injury that won’t be treated during this period. But if you’re a masseuse at the Congressional gymnasium, you’ll probably be expected to report to work. After all, you’re a necessity to keeping the government going during its time of need.