Friday’s potential government shutdown directly affects “non-essential” employees, putting them at risk of taking a furlough. However it’s not only this class of employees that will feel the effects of shutdown. There are serious economic ripple effects and, more simply, it costs money to shutdown the government. Janice Lachance, CEO of the Special Libraries Association helps explain the process of how a shutdown works for the employees. She was previously was the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management where she learned a thing or two about who the federal government thinks is essential to its daily operation. “Unfortunately, it’s a lot of work for a lot of people,” says Lachance. Is it worth all the work just to furlough employees?
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.