Sen. Harry Reid is on C-SPAN now saying that a shutdown is close and that he is not optimistic. "The only thing holding up an agreement is ideology," he said on the Senate floor.
The benefits of this, though, are actually pretty high. The truth is, people like government and miss it when it's gone. Unfortunately, as Pema Levy noted below, D.C. residents will feel it the most (I am lamenting the fact that I forgot to take the trash out yesterday).
But the rest of the country will feel it, too, and when they realize how many essential services the government provides, and provides well, maybe they'll reconsider this "support" of the Tea Party's efforts to gum up the works. Or at least, the Tea Party caucus will finally realize that they don't have support.
