Federal government shutdowns can be disruptive, with thousands of workers furloughed and most of them not getting paid on time. Taxpayers won’t get calls returned, there may be longer lines at airports during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year and many national parks will close.
And yet many of the routine functions of government — things like national defense, benefit checks and mail delivery — continue as usual.
The US Capitol in Washington, DC.
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
The uniquely American phenomenon of the partial government shutdown — a symptom of divided government, a dysfunctional budget process and a constitutional system that requires the House, Senate ...