Unless there is a major breakthrough in negotiations, the U.S. government will shut down tonight at midnight.
There is one big impact that will hit federal workers, and Louisiana has more than 30,000 of them.
"If you work for the government, you don't get a paycheck," noted UNO economics professor Walter "Dub" Lane.
Lane said there are also people who are not federal employees, but they still do government work.
"The other one, if you're doing any contracting with the government, and they owe you money, you won't get those checks," Lane said.
Social security payments shouldn't be affected. Neither should Medicare/Medicaid, or VA benefits, and the post office will stay open.
If you filed for an extension on your taxes last spring, those are due October 15. Lane says if you have questions for the IRS before the filing deadline, you might be out of luck.
"Let's suppose you call the IRS and you have a question, 'I don't know what to do with this' -- no one's going to answer the phone," he said.