Related Program: All Things Considered How The Government Spent $2 Billion Paying Workers To Not Work By Tamara Keith • Dec 19, 2013 Related Program: All Things Considered TweetShareGoogle+Email Listen Listening... / Originally published on December 19, 2013 3:42 pm Two billion — that's the number of dollars the federal government lost during the partial government shutdown, paying furloughed employees not to work. TweetShareGoogle+EmailView the discussion thread.