Hey, what's so new about a shutdown?

HOW YOU ENJOYING your government shutdown thus far?

What's that?

You say your government's been shut down?

Oh, you must be thinking about this Congress passing the fewest bills of any Congress since it began keeping such stats 66 years ago.

And, of course, acting like wood-headed puppets in a never-ending production from The Theatre of the Absurd.

No budgets, no raising the debt ceiling, no peace, no hope, just "The Myth of Sisyphus."

Or maybe you're referring to the state Legislature's ongoing failure to deal with anything more substantial than a resolution designating October as "Wine, Wineries and Grape Month."

(I am not making this up.)

No pension reform, no tax reform, no road-and-bridge repair, no progress, no purpose, just more collecting per diems.

Help for Philly schools? Funding for SEPTA?

The state's only first-class city remains in déjà vu all over again.

But there's one bright light.

Mayor Nutter was one of three U.S. mayors just honored as a "City Changemaker" by something called CEOs for Cities. He got the honor, according to his news release, "for a number of reasons."

So there's that.

If we could only get Nutter some help.

But the Inky's Angela Couloumbis reports some Philly lawmakers are, shall we say, a tad disconnected from duty.

If you missed it, an Inky review of voting records shows state Rep. Dwight Evans, a former House Appropriations boss, missed about a third of House votes in 2011.

It shows state Sen. LeAnna Washington missed a third of votes this year and last.

And it shows that state Sen. Anthony Williams - a potential 2015 mayoral candidate - missed about a third of votes this year.

These included votes on school-funding, voter ID and expansion of Medicaid.

I just hope these folks are around to approve "Wine, Wineries and Grape Month."

Meanwhile, the state House might leap into another transportation-funding try.

House GOP leader Mike Turzai promises a floor vote as soon as today on Senate Bill 1, which flew through the Senate and provides $2.5 billion for road-and-bridge repair and mass transit.

But such a vote could prove problematic.

Turzai doesn't support the measure. Many Republicans won't vote for any tax or fee increases, or for mass transit. Many Democrats will. But Evans argues that the state Constitution requires all revenue bills to originate in the House, so Senate Bill 1 is "impaired."

Such stagnation and uncertainty at all levels makes for skittish economies.

A Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry survey of employers, for example, shows that although 38 percent expect increased sales going forward, only 20 percent expect to hire more workers in the coming year.

Chamber chief Gene Barr tells me the latter is "no surprise." He says "serious concerns about ObamaCare" and state taxes related to employment means a continued "drag" on job creation.

What can be done?

Maybe an angry and energized electorate spurred by new progressive voting rules will replace those responsible.

I'm just kidding.

This is Pennsylvania, land of gerrymandered, incumbent-protecting districts and low voter turnout.

And progress? Well, a Senate bill allowing online voter registration that passed 49-0 last spring and efforts to get no-excuse absentee balloting and same-day registration face the judgment of House State Government Committee Chairman Daryl "The Daryl" Metcalfe.

Yesterday, he told me his interest in voting lies in "integrity issues."

In other words, stronger checks on who's voting now, not new efforts to expand voting opportunities.

When asked if it's fair to say online voting is unlikely to see action, he says, "That's fair."

So get used to things as they are - federal shutdown or not - and maybe find some solace celebrating "Wine, Wineries and Grape Month."