The discussion centers on the implications of a U.S. government shutdown on federal funding, particularly for research and essential services. Participants assert that during a shutdown, federal agencies may halt payments for obligated funds, affecting research proposals and social security payments. Essential federal employees may continue to work without pay, while non-essential employees face furloughs. The conversation highlights the political dynamics at play, emphasizing that both parties engage in partisan politics rather than addressing the budgetary issues effectively.
PREREQUISITESThis discussion is beneficial for government employees, contractors, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the complexities of federal funding and the consequences of government shutdowns on public services and research initiatives.
JDStupi said:I think that this gets to the heart of one of our most potentially pressing modern economic issues. The very peculiar modern situation that is characterized by racking up a massive debt being nearly a pre-requisite for economic mobility.
First, our contemporary society is suffering massively from educational-inflation, x amount of years ago you could get a *decent* job without a college degree, and not necessarily have to worry about a glass-ceiling limiting you to a crawl-space.
And no, it is not because "the modern world demands more education", many jobs do not require college education, including newly created-jobs that didn't exist "x amount of years ago".
In order to properly enter the workforce, you nearly MUST put yourself in a situation where you are massively in debt before you can ever begin to get a decent paying job.
This is a problem with the structure of our economy and social situation.
It seems to work fine now, but what if there is a long-term crisis? The very structure of the economy must change, not just "cut government funding to students" that could be disasterous to our advantage in the global market, nor just "fund everything with government". Something has to be thought up, and the problem with politics is political inertia. Nobody wants to radically re-conceptualize the way we conduct our economy and, in turn, its ramifications for social structure.
That should be the first on our list. Not abortion, not drugs, or a slew of other banal crap that gets passed off for politics.