Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Government Shutdown

By Brad Nagel

As of right now, the United States is in the midst of an economical crisis: the government shutdown. The shutdown of the government in the United States occurred due to a lack of an agreement in congress on the budget to fund the government. Now some people hear government shutdown and think that the United States is currently in a state of anarchy with no government at all, but that’s not the case. The government isn’t completely gone, however there are many workers affected by the shutdown, and the economy is being impacted greatly.


In the past, the government has been shutdown in the same way it is shutdown right now, but usually only for a few days. The last time the government was shut down for an extended period was in 1995 when the government was shut down for 21 days. That 1995 shutdown proved to cost the United States 2.1 billion dollars. Currently the government has been shut down for 14 days and counting, and it is estimated that it is costing the United States 1.6 million dollars a day. Because the government is shutdown for this prolonged period, the economy is suffering more and more each day.

First of all, many people who work for the government are not being paid. Some government employees are still working, but they aren’t receiving their paychecks. Furthermore, some employees who work for what is considered ‘non-essential’ parts of the government are not even allowed to show up to work. For example, national park workers can’t work because all of the national parks are closed! In total, the shutdown has already caused a leave of absence to 350,000 people who work for the federal government.


With this many people not being paid, this is where the economy comes into play. There are now more people with less money, so the United States is going to see a decrease in demand of many products. Many small businesses who specialize in more specific products will suffer because there simply are less people who are going shopping and who are willing to buy luxury type items. This may result in a large surplus of products because suppliers were not expecting this sudden decrease in employment. Also, businesses who sell goods or services to the government are going to feel the negative impact of the shutdown. The government won’t be buying the goods or services, and therefore these businesses will not be able to make money, resulting in even more job losses.

Another reason why the economy will suffer from the government shutdown is because the United States is coming across as unreliable. Many large businesses and the CEO’s of these businesses are going to start looking other places than the United States to generate revenue. If the United States has a government that can’t agree on a budget, CEO’s of the large businesses are going to want to avoid relying on the United States to make money. This will greatly impact the economy of the United States because now some of the major businesses that help build the economy of the United States are going to be gone.

Overall, the government shutdown has only hurt the economy of the United States, and each day that the shutdown continues it’s only going to get worse. America can only hope that congress can make a deal and end the shutdown before the economy gets further destroyed.

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Bibliography


Alex. "Government shutdown would threaten fragile economy - POLITICO.com." Politics, Political News - POLITICO.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/government-shutdown-2013-economy-97541.html>.

Curry, Tom, and NBC News. "Government shutdown, day 14: Where does it go from here? - NBC Politics."NBC Politics. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/14/20948247-government-shutdown-day-14-where-does-it-go-from-here?lite>.

"Economic effects of the government shutdown - YouTube." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIo7llkPneE>.

"Government Shutdown: Some Regional Lawmakers Are Refusing Pay | HPPR."HPPR | In touch with the world, at home on the High Plains. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://hppr.org/post/government-shutdown-some-regional-lawmakers-are-refusing-pay>.

Zambell, Nancy, and 2013. "The Government Shutdown's Long-Term Effects - Money Morning." Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://moneymorning.com/2013/10/08/the-government-shutdowns-long-term-effects/#>.



7 comments:

  1. To think that our government is shut down is a pretty mind-boggling concept. We think of the United States as having this great government, which it does, but in reality, we face many problems -- including the issue of parties not getting along and not being able to make decisions and be productive. The lives of many people have been thrown off because of this, like you mentioned, those who work for the government and even people who just simply want to visit sites. For example, my parents were in Hawaii last week and wanted to visit the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor but it was closed. On a more economical level, the amount of money that is being lost is detrimental. It seems like the government shutting down should not even be an option when the country already has such low unemployment rates and such high debt.

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  2. This is very scary and sad that our government, the people who basically control our country, cannot make an agreement on how to spend our money, resulting in effecting not just them but many other people. The USA as it is without the government shut down was already having a hard time with people finding jobs, and now with this it just increases the job loss and jobless people.

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  3. yeah that kind of gives me a weird feeling of the ALMIGHTY Western Government falling, but I mean they were predicting it for years and with the debt ceiling literally at the highest it can ever be we have no choice but too shut down. They cant just raise the debt ceiling higher because we will never get out of debt. So we mine as well pull up our sleeves and get ready because who knows whats going to happen.

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  4. This is one of the worst possibilities that can happen to the United States. When the government shut down every business that relies on the government to buy there product is really out of business and all government jobs are basically out of business as well. Really what is happening with the government shut down is Republicans don't agree with Democrats and Republicans are trying to make a change. And when you have two parties in our government that don't agree with each other things like this will happen. Eventually something will change and everything will go back in the right direction.

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  5. It is shocking that this is allowed to happen by the government. The fact that they allow hundreds of thousands of people to be out of work because they cannot come to an agreement. The fact that they are willing to waste 1.6 million dollars a day of the United States' money because they do not agree over the way we spend the money that we don't have. It just doesn't make sense.

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  6. I find this government shut down to be sickening and saddening at the same time. One, the two sides couldn't even come to an agreement on the spending bill so they have to stop all the jobs that rely on them just doesn't seem fair. It also goes to show how greedy the government is that they do not seem to care for the repercussions of their actions and how it will affect so many people. Along with that it is sad to see how much debt we are already in, while each day this continues the government loses 1.6 million dollars. I'm scared for the citizens of the United States and the future our government holds because it is clear we are on a downward spiral.

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  7. I think that it is absolutely ridiculous that our government had to shut down. Democracy has been the way of life for Americans since the beginning of our government. It is the only ethical way to run a government. The government needs to get it together and do what is best for people every where. I think it's interesting that you mentioned that people who work for the government are not being payed and are not allowed to show up to work. I was not aware of that before. Now that I know this I find it quite silly. The government is in absolute panic mode with all of the crisis' of today. The economy needs to be first priority. Without a stable economy and government life will continue to be very challenging.

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