A professor of political science at Boise State University believes that while the current government shutdown in Washington is not without precedent, it is nonetheless serious. He also warned that Idahoans age 50 and younger should not plan on the federal government for their retirement needs.

"As I understand it, there have been 17 government shutdowns since the Carter administration,” said Dr. Scott Yenor. In an exclusive interview with IdahoReporter.com, Yenor added that "there's been kind of a progression of these shutdowns. They began over very narrow policy issues, so the first five or six of them under President Carter were about abortion funding."

During the Reagan presidency, Yenor said that there were shutdowns over missile and defense spending. But in the 1990s, government shutdowns came about over broader issues like the size and scope of the federal budget, and how much debt the government accrues.

While he said that the federal government probably cannot default on its debt, Yenor nonetheless added that "we need a functional government in our country." As for why, during the current government shutdown, only about 17 percent of federal operations have been halted, Yenor stated that "the other 83 percent or so is on autopilot."

Yenor also warned that the "sovereign debt" is the nation's greatest problem right now. He recommends that Americans age 50 and younger should not plan to rely on Social Security and Medicare in their retirement years.

Listen to the full discussion with Dr. Scott Yenor HERE

Note: IdahoReporter.com is published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Dr. Yenor is a member of the foundation’s board of scholars.