The Costs of a Government Shutdown

Written by: Tyler Johnson

The Costs of a Government Shutdown

Every year, the US Government creates a budget on government spending. As a new president sworn into office, there are new ideas of where the government’s budget should be allocated to. With President Trump’s new views on nationalism and national defense, he is looking to increase the spending on the military as well as homeland security, while decreasing all other departments. As a result of this, congress is unlikely to approve of these radical changes, as some of the changes in spending are unnecessary and will not be able to allow a continuous growth in the US.

This disapproval of the budget in congress could eventually cause a government shutdown, hindering the US economy. In a shutdown, not only is the US economy impacted through a decreased economic output, but also travel spending at national parks and museums are hindered. In the 2013 government shutdown, the US economy lost $24 billion in economic output, and lost $450,000 in revenue at national parks. Due to the loss of revenue, parks could shut down, and jobs may be lost for the consumers in the economy. This could result in a decrease in the US's GDP. Also, if workers are kept to their salaries, the US government budget deficit could increase significantly due to lost taxpayers dollars.

As the budget deadline for the President and Congress to pass a spending bill is nearing, the likelihood of another government shutdown is increasing, eventually leading to a negative impact in the US economy. This would lead to an increase of budget deficit, trade deficit, and loss of GDP.

Works Cited

@Edockterman, Eliana Dockterman. “Here’s How Much The Government Shutdown Cost The Economy.” Time, Time, 17 Oct. 2013, swampland.time.com/2013/10/17/heres-what-the-government-shutdown-cost-the-economy/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2017.

Hicks, Josh. “How much did the shutdown cost the economy?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Oct. 2013, www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2013/10/18/how-much-did-the-shutdown-cost-the-economy/?utm_term=.f449be798ef7. Accessed 26 Apr. 2017.

Mufson, Steven, and Damian Paletta . “ Business Trump federal budget 2018: Massive cuts to the arts, science and the poor.” The Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-federal-budget-2018-massive-cuts-to-the-arts-science-and-the-poor/2017/03/15/0a0a0094-09a1-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?utm_term=.4ae44225c608. Accessed 22 Apr. 2017.

Schoen, John W. “Another government shutdown? Here's the cost.” CNBC, CNBC, 22 Sept. 2015, www.cnbc.com/2015/09/21/another-government-shutdown-heres-the-cost.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.