One of the things I do when I’m pulling together my postings for our blog is to go to the EPA or OSHA websites, to see what’s new, what the agencies are focusing on.  Unfortunately, all I can think about today trying to find a topic to write about is the government shutdown, and what that might mean. Going to the EPA and OSHA websites didn’t help:

•  From http://www.osha.gov – “Due to suspension of Federal government services, this website is not being regularly monitored.   If you need to report a workplace fatality, hospitalizations, or an imminent danger situation please contact our toll free number immediately: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742); TTY 1-877-889-5627.”
•  From www.epa.gov– “The federal government is currently shut down. The EPA website and social media channels will not be updated until the federal government reopens. En la actualidad, el cierre del Gobierno Federal está en vigor.”

Obviously, I was getting no new ideas from these, and I was discouraged.  So I turned to the internet to see how the shutdown would affect private manufacturers – were people talking about it? This from WTNH’s website: “Thousands of Connecticut manufacturing jobs are directly tied to federal government contracts and because of that hundreds, maybe thousands of Connecticut jobs could be affected by the federal government shutdown.”  This from a meeting this morning of Connecticut manufacturers and Senator Blumenthal

What about non-government connected jobs? .  From the same meeting, as noted in The Day, Jamison Scott, of the New Haven Manufacturers Association, said the budget showdown could delay orders, which would reduce productivity and production at the manufacturing plants and ultimately lead to layoffs. There are 4,600 manufacturers statewide who employ 166,000 people, he added.

What about other impacts?  From the Wall Street Journal: Uncertainty makes the industrial sector nervous, and it slows.  Lenders may have trouble lending if they can’t get government paperwork.  Bond markets may be affected by the lack of jobs data, usually issued in the next few days.

I’m an optimist. It’s a little harder being one these days.  I’m just hoping that when it’s my turn to write again, in about three weeks, there’s something else for me to think about.