Contractors don't get paid. Most government agencies employ as many contractors as feds, if not more.
I wish this was talked about more so people would better realize the actual impact on lives. Contracted workers just get the middle finger. No retro pay whatsoever. And if it lasts long enough, no health insurance either.....
They get paid AFTER the federal government reopens. Until then, they need to go without pay. Unfortunately, they can't just "shut down" their bills. They still need to pay for food, housing, medical expenses, etc. The lender on their auto loan won't accept "I can't pay because my paychecks are being held up" as an excuse for non-payment.
How long would you be able to survive if your job required you to keep working, but didn't pay you for an indeterminate period of time? I'm lucky and could probably go for about 6 months before things got really hairy, but many people aren't as well off as I am (and I'm not even that well off to be honest).
For people living paycheck to paycheck, having to do without pay for who-knows-how-long, this could be financially disastrous.
I figured the the MAGoos wanted to show how powerful they were, and would settle down once they had a full tilt Rightist in the driver's seat. Looks like they won't be happy until they force their moderate colleagues to vote for a Dem Speaker.