When Clinton shut down the Federal government (and it WAS Clinton - he's the one who cast the veto that did it.) it really didn't affect me, or anyone I know . . . the only folks who really seemed to be hurt were the ones on vacation who wanted to visit some Federally-owned attraction, and found it closed. Most folks wouldn't have even been aware of it had the media not trumpeted it to the skies.
Some years before, most government (unionized, at least) employees in MN went on strike. Again, most people never noticed, aside from students that had longer lines to stand in during registration at U of MN.
Makes one wonder how much government we don't really need . . .