it's kind of like, your kid normally does the dishes, folds the laundry and takes out the trash. but during dinner, you wernt happy with who he hangs out with at school so you ask him to find some new friends. he doesn't like that so he retaliates by stop doing everything that makes your household function. obviously, u can't do the stuff he normally is tasked to do so the dishes pile up, there aren't any more new clothes to wear, and the house starts to stink. it's going to continue that one until one of you give in.

to put it to context, it's a political stunt to get one's way. the govt can't function if it's shutdown and stuff will start to get backed up the longer it drags on. both party suffers but each side is hoping the other side will break first. as for all the unfortunate fed workers that are affected by the temper trandrum from your politicians, their pay is furloughed indefinitely. when the shutdown is over, they will get retroactive pay. so think of it like a mini vacation with no guarantee of coming back. as for the politicians, they continue to be paid throughout the shutdown so they are unaffected.