I'd like to think the people causing it would be the ones punished for it, but people are really dumb and most minds are already made up. I don't think it'll matter much either way, and a vast majority of people won't be affected much, if at all.

I may be wrong here but it seems to me that this periodic scare of a government shutdown are scare tactics to push the national debt higher and higher. The end result will be generations of indentured servants to the holders of that debt. I am sure some economists would disagree but I have managed to live my life without saddling others with my burdens. Why can't the government act in a similar fashion. The answer is complicated but corruption plays a huge role. Our military budget is simply insane. We spend more than the rest of the big players combined. Is that being used for defense or to protect opportunistic corporations exploiting other countries? For the poor of other resource rich countries getting in bed with the USA doesn't provide near the promise that they should be benefitting from. It works out pretty good for the rich and well connected folks, but the standard of living for the poor is not raised substantially. The world is a complicated place but it doesn't need to be cruel and opportunistic. Another issue is the population we seem to be stripping the resources in a rather rapacious manner. IMHO