But clearly most of the government continues to run because either it was declared "essential" (a rather haphazard process) or is "self-supported" by fees, like

But clearly most of the government continues to run because either it was declared "essential" (a rather haphazard process) or is "self-supported" by fees, like the Post Office* or Amtrak.* More detail about "essential" workers/activities: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-shutdown-essential-20131002,0,382999.story http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-shutdown-ess... *-ironically both lose money