Federal agencies are preparing for a potential government shut down if democrats and republicans don't come to an agreement about funding the federal government for the rest of (or part of) the 2011 fiscal year. A government shut down means different things to different people. Those who have become dependent on the federal government's largess are concerned their gravy train may come to a temporary halt. On the other side, weary taxpayers are looking forward to a vacation from government spending.

Last year, Bell, California made national headlines when investigative reports uncovered that the city administrator was being paid $787,000 annually and the Police Chief was on the dole for $457,000, which included 20 weeks paid vacation. City Council members were also raking in $100,000 while the median income of Bell (population 38,000) was $28,000. Now, Costa Mesa, California hires $3,000/week communications specialist after sending layoff notices.

On March 18, 2011 The House of Representatives and the Senate passed another continuing resolution (CR) to make sure that the government could stay open for business. The good news is that this CR, which will last 3 weeks, contains $6 billion in spending cuts. The bad news is that $6 billion is just a drop in the bucket in a $3.7 trillion budget.