Why aren't the people in America in the streets?

My wife got her first chopped down paycheck because of the shutdown.  We protested by grilling some steaks and drinking a couple bottles of wine.  Fach 'em.

The problem is that it really isn't that bad.  In fact, maybe it will show that we could use a lot less Government.  The fact is none of this is worth taking to the streets for.  Think about it.  Would you risk your life (Livelyhood) to protest stupidity?  Probably not.  I have a good paying job, with benefits, a great family, and this really isn't impacting me in any way.  And ultimately, I will make my voice heard by my vote.  That is how it is supposed to work.

- Soap 

- Ballot

- Jury

- Ammo

Those are the 4 boxes (in the correct order) in which to solve things.  Velocomp is correct that things are not that bad and quite frankly, we would benefit from much less government.  The citizens are watching things play out.  More important than the shutdown is how the debt ceiling negotiations will go.  On top of that, the reaction to how "free" Obamacare is, will be entertaining.  

It isn't "that bad" for most Americans because the 800,000 furloughed workers are a fraction of federal employees. What most Americans don't think about is the hundreds of thousands of invisible federal employees still on the job, without pay, so that most American's lives can go on as normal.

The "essential" employees are still guarding the borders, making sure that airplanes take off safely and on time, still continuing to catch, prosecute and imprison criminals and make sure many, many other invisible tasks are handled. The few visible closures have people voicing their inconvenience. People only get outraged if they feel personally affected, and at this point many don't. So they sit home and passively express their displeasure at our leaders while hundreds of thousands of people wonder when they will receive another paycheck or when their benefits (veterans, ss) will stop. 

As I've posted, my wife is one of those who is working without getting a paycheck right now.  I spent the end of last week with some Federal law enforcement folks.......nobody even mentioned it, and my family certainly isn't worried about it.  We went through the last one for 21 days and nobody starved to death or anything else.  In short......it's not "that bad" for us either....not even close.  I wouldn't give those idiots in Washington the satisfaction of hearing us complain.

And the point I am making is who cares?  Let it all shut down completely......that's the best way to see what it will hurt.  I bet it won't hurt near as much as the media and the politicians want us to believe.  You know why?  Because the govt. is WAY bigger than we need it to be....go ahead and shut it down completely (notice that the politicians won't actually let that happen).....watch what happens...life goes on.

It's hurt me a little, but it's also forced me to be creative and to seek out new business. I picked up two new clients last week. Sometimes a little shove is a good thing.

Remember when the USSR went broke? It forced their scientists and engineers to find ways to do more with less. They did amazing things with computers that we would have thrown away. They had more time to think and plan before running an experiment. Here we tend to throw money at problems.

Agree with the others, it just hasn't been painful enough for anyone to get that worked up.
Even the workers that aren't getting paid know that they'll get paid when it's over.  So even that level of "worked up" of those directly effected is pretty small.

Obviously there are people effected that won't get back pay, but they aren't a large enough group that's going to be marching the streets, IMHO.

x2

It's Al (I invented the internet) Gores fault.

The inter-webs are the "new streets"

If our elected officials continue to violate the constitution, their oath of office and amend current laws like a King I believe you'll see more protests in DC and at the local offices of our Senators and Congresspeeps. 

We don't need to protest.  November 2014 isn't that far off.

I hope I'm wrong but I think we've gone past the tipping point. There are way too many people receiving stuff from the Federal Gubmnt. compared to how many the Federal Gubmnt. take money from.

You'll see a high percentage of people voting for the guys promising the most free stuff for this to ever get turned around. 

Every time Sarah Palin opens her pie hole I want to run out into the street in front of a moving car.

The 48% that give more to the government than they get back are the people who are peeved about the spending and debt problems in Washington. The other 52% could care less. The 48% have to work harder and longer to pay for all this so we don't have time to hit the streets and protest, so we gripe on forums and social media instead.