"Who's hurt by a government shutdown anyway," say Republicans. It's not like anyone actually lives paycheck to paycheck in their minds, literally. This is what Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) told reporters word-for-word about the shutdown. "Who's living that they're not going to make it to the next paycheck?"
How about Taylor Futch and her family in Gatlinburg, Tennessee? Her husband is a wildlife biologist in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where his work with black bears is their only source of income. "We're trying to gather up a couple things just in case I need to start selling stuff on Facebook or eBay," she said. "If his paycheck doesn't get here on Friday, we may not have enough for the mortgage." The family has an $800 land payment due next week, along with regular monthly bills, their mortgage and car payment. And two kids to raise.
The hit on communities around the nation's national parks is particularly hard, which is one reason states are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep them open. While money from the National Park Foundation turned the lights back on the national Christmas tree in D.C. in time for Christmas Eve, states are picking up the tab in Utah and Arizona to keep the system of canyons parks—Arches, Bryce Canyon, and Zion and the Grand Canyon—open. Additionally, "New York is spending $65,000 a day to keep the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island open to tourists. Puerto Rico agreed to pay up to $80,000 for two weeks of services at the San Juan National Historic Site."
That keeps the tourists coming, but using state employees to take care of the parks doesn't help the parks employees who have lost their salaries. And there are dozens of parks where it's not practical or possible for states to pick up the tab. That creates a danger to the parks and to visitors, says former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who served under President Obama. "We've got the worst of all worlds right now," she said. "You've got a dangerous situation, and a situation where our nation's treasures are put at risk. There is now a very small number of law enforcement who can patrol and stop poaching, looting and vandalism, as well as people not realizing the risk and potentially hurting themselves."
The last government shutdown that closed the parks, in 2013, cost them at least $414 million in lost visitor spending alone. With Individual 1 blustering that this one could last a long time, the bill could be much higher. The states and private companies and non-profits that have stepped in to help keep the parks open now aren't going to be able to sustain costs of at least $590,000 per week to keep it going for long.