By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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The ‘Non-Essential’ Parts of Government That Shut Down Are Actually Quite Essential (WaPo)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konzcal breaks down some of the services government usually provides, the absences of which can cause the country real harm. It's not all museums and panda cams: it's trade, research, and critical pieces of the social safety net.
Shutdown Prompts Rare Government Mix: Imagination and Laughter (ProPublica)
Kim Barker reports on one side effect of the shutdown: conferences that scheduled non-essential federal employees as presenters. One analyst for Health and Human Services went so far as to record a presentation before going on furlough, to fill in for himself.
Other Ways to Get Your Jobs Data (NYT)
Thanks to the shutdown, there was no official jobs report on the first Friday of October. Catherine Rampell lists some of the alternative measures, which are usually overshaded by the Department of Labor but are all we have right now.
The Most Often Repeated Fact About US Debt is Wrong (Quartz)
Matt Phillips points out that depending on what definition of a default you use, the U.S. has defaulted on its debt up to three times in the past. But non of those situations look anything like the debt ceiling question today, which would be a "voluntary" default.
Boehner Says He Doesn't Want to Default, But That's 'The Path We're On' (NY Mag)
While Friday's Daily Digest linked to a New York Times piece indicating that Boehner would not allow a default, now Margaret Hartmann reports that the Speaker is saying otherwise. He's apparently no longer willing to step around his own party.
Here's The Uncomfortable Answer To Whether Treasury Can 'Prioritize' Payments In The Event Of A Debt Ceiling Breach (Business Insider)
Joe Weisenthal explains that the Treasury is unsure if it's even possible to priotiize interest payments in order to avoid a default - and even if it is possible, the legality is questionable too.
At a Nissan Plant in Mississippi, a Battle to Shape the U.A.W.’s Future (NYT)
Steven Greenhouse reports on the U.A.W.'s continued attempts to organize Southern auto plants. The union is taking an international strategy, having union members worldwide pressure Nissan and drawing support from Brazil to South Africa to Japan.