since they are paid in arrears.

1. Federal employees get furloughed

Subscribe
Without the legal authorization to continue paying employees, hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be "furloughed" — in other words, forced to take a mandatory hiatus. In 2013, around 800,000 federal employees were furloughed; however, around 2.2 million government workers stayed on even during the shutdown.

2. Some workers continue without a clear payment date

Those kept are mostly considered "essential" — TSA, federal prison staff, FBI agents, emergency workers and doctors. And of course, the most well-known government employees — our elected representatives — will continue to show up at work.

Though everyone who works will eventually get paid for the days they put in, the payment of salaries may be delayed until the government is fully funded.

3. The post office stays open.

Since the post office is funded independently, it will continue to run during a government shutdown. So don't worry, you'll still be able to send rent checks or invoices the old-fashioned way if you don't yet completely rely on email.

Similarly, the Federal Reserve is independently funded — and in fact makes more money than it spends — and will continue to operate.

Government Shutdown Fight Looms: 5 Things You Should Know

4. CDC, NIH and National Park Service shut down

Among the departments that will shut down are the National Park Service, National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that you will have to cancel any plans to go to Yellowstone, Yosemite or Acadia until the park rangers are allowed to return.

Perhaps the most troubling department closures, however, are that of the CDC and NIH. When the CDC isn't funded, it falls behind on its efforts to fight the spread of the flu and to track the spread of deadly diseases and infections across the country. The National Institutes of Health are unable to enroll patients in potentially lifesaving experimental studies.

5. Social Security checks go out

Social Security payments are mandated and authorized by federal law, so anyone relying on this money will continue to receive it. However, anyone who wants to sign up to receive social security benefits would be delayed until the government is fully operational again.

6. Unemployment benefits, and other government payments, could face delays

But while social security checks go out, many other sources of federal funds will run dry if the shutdown persists. People receiving veterans' benefits, unemployment insurance, farm subsidies and tax refunds may face delays or have to wait until Congress passes a spending bill. In 2013, for instance, some veterans benefits were delayed, though most were paid out, according to Newsweek.

7. The country loses money

Every day the government shutdown lasts, the economy suffers. Federal spending, like it or not, is a major part of the American economy, and abruptly ending it means less economic activity because of lost productivity, wages and other downstream financial impacts.

According to the financial ratings agency Standard and Poor's, the 2013 government shutdown subtracted about $1.5 billion from GDP every day it lasted, totaling $24 billion of lost economic activity by the end. And these numbers don't count other harder-to-measure economic impacts, such as reduced confidence in the competence of the American government and institutions

There is no delay. It is paid for by companies-- not the government.

Unemployment benefits (depending on the jurisdiction also called unemployment insurance or unemployment compensation) are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compulsory governmental insurance system, not taxes on individual citizens. Depending on the jurisdiction and the status of the person, those sums may be small, covering only basic needs, or may compensate the lost time proportionally to the previous earned salary.

Which I assume is a cut and paste. Unemployment is paid by the state -- not the federal government -- and is funded by a tax on employers. It will not be affected by a so-called shutdown.

I am not arguing your point...

but makes an electronic transfer to the recipient's account. Or the money is deposited on to a debit card, if the recipient has no bank account.

I am fairly certain that they haven't mailed out physical checks in years.

Anyway, the deposits are no doubt completely automatic once they are set in place. So the government could shut down for quite a while before SS deposits might cease.

Medicare I have no idea about.

to at least ensure Medicare and SS payments are made, even if a partial shutdown lingers for weeks or months.