Can you throw in a link? It only had 5 years, I wanted to look at 2018 specifically.

Jenifer (Zarknorph) said:

capsicum

I don’t know nothing about capsicum, but I hate brussel sprouts 

He forgets that the first post Obama economic policy corresponds with the volitality and the down tick is without any Pelosi economic activity 

I love Brussel Sprouts!

You obviously don't know how to cook them!

You might like living in a Coen brothers' nightmare of a movie life, but I'm too close to Fargo to find political insight in what was obviously supposed to be sophomoric humor.

ElDotardo said:

The Ruling Establishment in America is so opposed to President Trump because he openly stands in opposition to them.

Umm, Trump just gave the Ruling Class Establishment the biggest tax break gift ever. The wealthy few who have the REAL power will be quite pleased to dump his Most Honorable Nastiness as soon as their bank accounts are full. When the Republican Senators are voted out in 2020, those rich old white guys won't shed a tear for giving up their "public service". Their dignity and service (such as it was) to our country, will be forever tarnished by their support and total lack of any endeavor to rein in this self-absorbed charlatan, sexist bigot, who needs to implant another few mouths in his head so that he can talk with many forked tongues.

I understand how the "glamour" of a snake-oil salesman, or a carnival barker might appeal  to those raised on "Reality TV" unreality, but those of us who want a modicum of diplomatic sense, tact, and common decency do not find the sideshow amusing.

Oh well said!

HAH!!

I think you call capsicums bell peppers.

US government workers given $0 pay slips as shutdown drags on

US government employees have received pay slips with nothing but zeros on them as the effects of the government shutdown hit home, deepening anxieties about mortgage payments and unpaid bills.

An estimated 800,000 US government workers have not been paid their wages for the first time since the shutdown began.

Pictures of the pay statements have been posted on social media and workers have vented their frustrations as the standoff over US President Donald Trump's demand for $US5.7 billion ($7.9 billion) for a border wall entered its 21st day.

This weekend, it will become the longest shutdown in US history.

"I saw the zeros in my pay stub today, and it's a combination of reality setting in and just sadness," air traffic controller Josh Maria said.

"We're America. We can do better than this."

The missed payments were just one sign of the mounting toll the shutdown is taking on Americans' daily lives.

The Miami airport is closing a terminal this weekend because security screeners have been calling in sick at twice the normal rate.

About 420,000 government employees deemed essential are working unpaid. An additional 380,000 are staying home without pay.

While furloughed federal workers have been given back pay in previous shutdowns, there is no guarantee that will happen this time.

Photo: Many workers affected by the shutdown have not been paid for two weeks. (AP: Michael Dwyer)

Workers are turning to side gigs to earn money

Government workers are scaling back spending, cancelling trips, applying for unemployment benefits and taking out loans to stay afloat.

Most received their last pay two weeks ago.

Around the country, some workers are relying on donations, including launching GoFundMe campaigns.

Food pantries have opened up in several locations.

Ellen Jackson, a Transportation Security Administration officer based in Las Vegas, is driving full time for a ride-share company to get by.

The 59-year-old, who is an Air Force veteran that makes about $52,655 a year, is planning to retire in April.

"I don't want to borrow any money," Ms Jackson said.

"I don't want to get into a deeper hole."

Fellow Las Vegas-based TSA agent Julia Peters applied for food stamps this week and was approved.

She said five of the eight other applicants at the benefits office were also TSA workers.

Other furloughed employees have considered working as substitute teachers and have earned money doing odd jobs.

Californian Chris George, 48, who has picked up some work as a handyman, turned to a crowdfunding site to raise some cash and started driving for a ride-sharing company.

But the side gigs are not making much difference, and he has been trying to work with his mortgage company to avoid missing a payment.

"Here we are, day 21, and all three parties cannot even negotiate like adults," he said.

He described government workers like him as "being pawns for an agenda of a wall".

The cost of the shutdown

Economists at S&P Global said the shutdown has cost the US economy $4.9 billion so far.

The typical federal employee makes $51 an hour, which translates into $2,051 a week, according to Labor Department data.

That is more than $1.6 billion in lost pay each week, when multiplied by 800,000 federal workers.

Many workers live pay cheque to pay cheque, despite the strong economy and the low unemployment rate.