The government shutdown is confusing. In an exercise in my Spanish class, we discussed which federal programs would continue to function during a shutdown and which would not. Some of my classmates said, “I didn’t even know it could do that.” Others said, “The government is shut down?”

If it weren’t for the media, I doubt many people would be aware of the shutdown. This is because, as CNN’s Tom Foreman explained, the shutdown is a process and not one grand event. The process has just begun, so the effects are mostly unnoticeable in our day-to-day lives. 

Of the United States’ 3.3 million federal workers, 2.5 million are deemed essential and will continue working. Essential employees include active duty military, air traffic controllers, hazardous waste handlers and food inspectors.  

But for the more than 800,000 federal workers who have been furloughed, the effects are clear. Their jobs are in what Foreman called “non-time sensitive work.” This includes many employees from NASA, national parks, the Internal Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior. 

Although the temporary lack of pay will certainly affect these employees, CNN said everyone who stayed home in previous shutdowns was paid retroactively.  For this reason, CNN urged furloughed workers to celebrate or maybe even take a vacation—but where? All national museums, zoos and parks are closed. That’s 368 sites closed, which will hurt all tourism-related businesses. 

On Tuesday—the first day of the shutdown—Yosemite National Park workers celebrated the park’s 123rd anniversary by advising overnight campers that they had 48 hours to leave. All Smithsonian museums and national monuments bear a “closed due to government shutdown” sign. Even the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell are closed. 

Washington, D.C. faces the largest consequences. It heavily relies on revenue that the museums, monuments and zoos bring to its hotels and restaurants. The government shutdown means D.C.’s trash collection is suspended, its DMV is closed and D.C.’s Circulator buses are not in service. 

The shutdown will also delay the processing of passport applications. And if you were hoping to get a gun license to celebrate North Carolina’s new gun law, you’ll have to wait—gun permit processing is also delayed. 

The federal government has shut down 17 times since 1977, according to the Congressional Research Service. But just because the U.S. has survived government shutdowns many times before does not mean shutdowns are not a concern. 

The previous two shutdowns cost the country $1.4 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. But these shutdowns occurred in 1995-96, a time of great economic growth because of Silicon Valley. The economy is much worse off now, meaning the effects might be more severe. Brian Kessler, an economist with Moody’s Analytics, estimates that a three-to-four-week shutdown would cost the economy $55 billion. Others estimate that a shutdown would cost about $1 billion a week just in pay lost by furloughed workers.  

A CNN/ORC poll released on Monday found that 87 percent of adults say they disapprove of the way Congress as a whole does its job and I’m sure the shutdown only added to the disapproval. The shutdown is the result of Congress’ inability to agree on a spending plan. 

CNN’s Holly Yan describes the reason for the delay most simply: “House Republicans insist any new spending plan include provisions to either defund, derail or otherwise chip away at Obamacare. Senate Democrats are just as insistent that it doesn’t.” The Affordable Care Act isn’t even directly tied to funding the government, but it’s being used as a bargaining chip. 

The simple fact that the government can shut down is mindboggling. But what makes people even more frustrated is that Congress and President Barack Obama will still receive payment. This is because the president’s salary is considered mandatory spending and the 27th amendment prevents Congress from changing its own pay. Seeing as the government is the reason for the chaos, its members should face more serious consequences for not meeting deadline. 

The longer Congress remains in discordance, the more pronounced the shutdown’s economic effects will become. But even if the shutdown were to end soon,  it has already made the country more divided, and perhaps that is the biggest problem of them all.