A budget impasse between the White House and Congressional Republicans could force the federal government to shut down on Friday when the current budget law allowing the government to spend money expires. The Republican-led House passed the bill of 61 billion dollars in cuts, but of course it was rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate. Sources are saying negotiators are now looking at a package of cuts for the rest of the fiscal year of between 33 billion and 40 billon dollars. President Barack Obama hosted the Senate and House leaders at the White House at a rare late night meeting on Wednesday, but so far there's still no deal.

"A shutdown could have real effects on everyday Americans. It means that small business owners who are counting on that loan to open their business, to make payroll, to expand, suddently they cann't do it; it means folks who are potentially processing a mortgage, they may not be able to get it; it means that hundreds of thousands of workers across the country suddenly would work without paycheck—their families are counting on their being able to go to work and do a good job."

Now if the government shuts down, that means thousands of workers will be off the job. The White House estimates that 800,000 workers could be asked to stay home. So what else does a government shutdown mean? Well, here are some of the possible outcomes if the U.S. government closes the shop temporarily: the military would still function, but paychecks would be delayed until after April 8th, because the government just wouldn't have the funds for payroll; national parks and national museums would close; passport applications could also be delayed; and tax audits would be suspended--keep in mind that Tax Day in the U.S. is in a week, on April 15th, but vital services like national defense, law enforcement, emergency medical care and air traffic control would still continue.