Shutdown Continues to Take Its Toll on the Poor; Meanwhile, Others Are Placing Bets

You can place bets on pretty much anything, and there are actual people placing bets on how long the government shutdown is going to last over at the American Civics Exchange, where the prediction seems to be weighted toward the shutdown ending between two weeks and one month out.

Meanwhile, the shutdown continues to affect families and the poor, who rely on services like Head Start, which “offers educational programs and health care nationally for 967,000 U.S. children from birth to age 5 whose parents live at the poverty line,” according to Bloomberg Businessweek:

Children living in poverty may go hungry or get sick as they miss the Head Start program’s free meals and medical services.

“They told us to watch the news and pray,” said Christine Forde, whose daughter, Lyriq, is in the same class with Faith. Forde, who works two jobs and is taking Internet classes, had to find $300 for last-minute day care. She said she blamed both Congress and President Barack Obama for acting “like immature kids.”

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