We don’t mean to alarm you, but the government shutdown has been in effect for two weeks now. Plus now there’s a debt ceiling crisis.

We’re a nation of 313.9 million people, and we’re letting a few hundred Washington officials make us a worldwide embarrassment while they play chicken with the global economy.

If the debt ceiling isn’t raised by Thursday, the US government will have borrowed all it can, and will be forced to operate with just the cash on hand, according to the Washington Post.

In short, the debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money our government can borrow to operate, since our government generally spends far more money than it takes in through taxation. Think of it as a credit card limit.

Once you’ve borrowed a certain amount, you can’t borrow any more until you’ve paid some of it back. In the case of the United States, that amount is $16.7 trillion dollars.

But unlike your credit card, at any time our government can vote to raise its own credit limit, so it can continue borrowing.

And just like the government shutdown due to a lack of an approved budget, the debt ceiling issue doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, because a handful of politicians can’t see eye-to-eye on the Affordable Care Act, according to CBS News.

The two major political parties won’t stop bickering with each other long enough to fix things. While “Obamacare” is a wedge issue, both sides risk ruining the economy due to a lack of compromise.

For college students, a debt ceiling collapse could mean higher student interest loan rates in the future – and that’s for those lucky enough to get loans in the first place, according to AmericanProgress.org.

After graduation, it could also mean a rougher job market. If businesses can’t take out loans for startup capital or expansions, fewer people wind up getting hired.

This is to say nothing of what will happen to the value of the US Dollar in the global market. An article from CBS warns the dollar could “nosedive” if the debt ceiling crisis is not resolved.

This wouldn’t just be bad for the United States and its own citizens, but the global economy, which relies heavily on the US Dollar.

China, who we currently owe $1.7 trillion to according to BusinessInsider, has recently called for a “de-Americanized world” in light of the shutdown and debt ceiling crisis.

Take the time to visit www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and learn who your representative is. Email that person explaining your dissatisfaction. Be polite, but firm.

Make sure senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow are also aware.

This is an issue that goes beyond party lines. A handful of people – who claim to represent your interests – are directly acting against them. If they won’t stop quarreling long enough to realize their actions have consequences, vote the lot of them out and start over with a new batch.

And don’t stop with the 2014 election. Keep voting out incumbents until we get a group who realizes their job is to serve our interests, not the other way around.

If an employee refuses to work, he or she gets fired. Why should politicians be any different?