Government shutdown in three, two, one… just kidding.

Federal government workers no longer have to fear: a federal budget for this year has finally been agreed upon.

There had been predictions earlier in recent weeks that due to ongoing disagreements between Democrats and Republicans on a spending package for the 2011 budget, the government would actually shut down.

It almost seemed as though nobody took these predictions quite seriously enough, and unfortunately it took up until the final minutes on March 18 for Congress to realize that if it did not take action, then this speculated shut down would become a reality.

“It definitely would have had short term and long term effects on our area,” said junior Matt Gartska. “There are a lot of people around here that have government jobs who would have been sent home and put out of work.”

The question still remains though; what actually would have happened if the government did shut down? Would mass chaos erupt due to the lack of guidance from our non-existent government? Or would the economy take a turn for the better because there wouldn’t be any governmental interference among our lives?

“They would have shut down all non essential government functions like museums, national parks, loan applications, etc,” said Government teacher Jason Croston. “Essential functions like military, law enforcement, and the airport TSA would still have been in operation.”

Even though the Congressmen momentarily put aside their differences, people were annoyed that they waited until the last possible moment. Federal workers prepared for the worst during the entire week leading up to the deadline, and felt that this time was wasted because Congress took much longer than it should have.

In all fairness though, the men and women on Capitol Hill made the right choice when they eventually agreed on the 2011 spending package.

Given that America is in the midst of one of the worst recessions in recorded history, the public needs a resolved and resolute government to look up to in these hard times. Had Congress not reached a decision, it’s safe to say that Americans would be in lower spirits than they already are.

“They argued about it way too much and came across as immature,” said senior Claire McCartney, “but it’s better late than never.”