Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel was just a freight train coming your way -Metallica

So the government may shut down at the end of the week and I'm currently scrambling to convert my dollars to gold and silver. I'm filling up the pantry with canned goods, stocking up on bottled water, making sure my vehicles are fueled up, and stocking my medicine cabinet. What's that you say? It's not the end of the world if the government shuts down on Friday?

OK, I jest, but with all of the hot air emanating from Capitol Hill you'd think the apocalypse was upon us. For the most part, if the government shuts down it will not impact 99.9 percent of the population. You'll still get your checks, the military will continue to deploy, U.S. Border Patrol will still be on duty, and the TSA will still be fondling travelers beyond Friday's deadline. You'd probably not mind if TSA were to shut down but you get the idea.

I'm not concerned with a government shut down because they were shut down last year by Mother Nature and the country didn't miss a beat. We probably saved a bunch without switching to Geico because when the government's not working they're not spending our money. Not a bad trade off in my opinion. If the government does shut down, I'll simply go about my business as normal.

As far as the blame game, who cares to hear partisans blaming each other? Who cares about the finger pointing? What's really important is how this all turns out in the end. Will we see an earnest down payment towards the deficit? Will our elected officials understand that the Ponzi Scheme known as Social Security is about to collapse? Will they simply vote "present" and pass another Continuing Resolution and hope to work it all out eventually?

Will there be light at the end of the government's shutdown tunnel or will it turn out to be the freight train of economic collapse? The answer to that question is the one that's most important to our future. •

It seems as though it'll be more jumping through hoops.