B1 Economics
Mr. Reuter
Government shutdown is worse than we thought
I’m not sure how many high schoolers actually keep up with politics and the American government--I know I don’t really pay much attention to it. However it’s pretty hard to miss the current government shutdown that our country is experiencing. So you might be wondering, what does it mean when the government is shutdown? Basically it occurs whenever Congress fails to appropriate funds for the next fiscal year. If this is the case, Congress would enact a continuing funds resolution. However if they cannot agree on anything, it leads to a shutdown. Currently the government has been shutdown for about four weeks. So what does this mean for our country’s economy?
Whenever the government goes into a shutdown, often times they stop paying many government workers. In some cases these workers are just sent home, and other times they are expected to continue working without compensation. According to “The Balance”, about 380,000 non-critical government workers are currently not getting paid. These employees also act as consumers in our country’s economy. Therefore if they aren’t getting paid, then they will obviously be less inclined to spend their money on anything besides necessities which might slow the economy.
Another industry in which you can really see the effects of the shutdown, is air travel. All of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) screeners, CBP (Customs and Border Protection) agents, and all the other air traffic control employees are government workers. Most of these people are continuing to work even without pay, considering without them, there would be no (safe) air travel. There aren’t many controllers as it is, plus according to the president of the air-traffic controllers union, many workers are at the age of retirement. So this government shutdown that is forcing some people to be sent home or work without pay is a pressing issue. Although, because of this unfair situation, the government workers employed by airports across the country have filed a lawsuit that asks to be reimbursed for all of their time spent working without wages. This also means more money that the government has to put money aside so that they can pay these workers.
There are also workers in the agricultural field that are currently on furlough. Unfortunately this means that all of the farmers cannot get their loans processed and (on the more extreme side) if the government shutdown continues, food stamps for the month of February may be cut. This would be a major issue as the effect of no food stamps would spread far and wide throughout the country. Because the government is shutdown, it is now up to the states to fund the food stamps program. The concern is that they might not have enough money in their budgets to keep up with the increasing demand, seeing as how close to a million federal workers are not being compensated. Worrying about how to fund federal government programs messes up the economic flow for individual states, leading to the country as a whole.
These are just a few examples of all the effects that this government shutdown has on our country and the people living in it. As far as economics go, “After the first two weeks, the shutdown began affecting economic growth. S&P Global Ratings estimated it cost $1.2 billion for every week the government is closed. Government spending is itself a component of gross domestic product. It contributes 18 percent of economic output,” (The Balance). For as little as I might’ve cared about it before considering I’m an absent-minded teenager, this shutdown is a big deal and has many more lasting effects on our economy and on American citizens than I would’ve imagined.
Works Cited
Amadeo, Kimberly. “Why the Government Shut Down and What Happens Next.” The Balance Small Business, The Balance, www.thebalance.com/government-shutdown-3305683.
Lane, Lea. “Updates On Air-Travel Delays Created By The U.S. Government Shutdown, And How To Deal With Them.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 16 Jan. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/01/14/update-on-air-travel-delays-created-by-the-u-s-government-shutdown-and-how-to-deal-with-them/#510eae4616f6.
Page, Susan. “Five Ways the Government Shutdown Could End – and Why They Probably Won't Happen.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 14 Jan. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/14/government-shutdown-how-will-it-end/2565793002/.
Paletta, Damian, and Erica Werner. “Millions Face Delayed Tax Refunds, Cuts to Food Stamps as White House Scrambles to Deal with Shutdown's Consequences.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 Jan. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/millions-face-delayed-tax-refunds-cuts-to-food-aid-as-white-house-scrambles-to-deal-with-shutdown/2019/01/04/b5b58616-0fa3-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ee237fb6bb5b.
[]. “If Shutdown Persists, Can States Fund Food Stamps and Welfare on Their Own?” Governing Magazine: State and Local Government News for America's Leaders, Governing, www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-federal-government-shutdown-states-safety-net.html.
ReplyDeleteHaving the government being shut down really shows everyone in America what it is like to have part of the government being shut down and many government employees not being able to work and get paid. But this government shutdown is being enacted by our president and not because we couldn’t get enough funds for the next fiscal year. In fact this shutdown can end anytime when the democrats can finally negotiate with the president about getting funds for the wall. The more that the democrats wait negotiating on this issue will make the economy continuously go downhill and I think we all know how sturdy Donald Trump is and he’s not going to budge on this very important issue.
One can only imagine the effects of the government shutdown if it continues for even longer than we anticipate. With $1.2 billion being lost every week, our economy gets weaker and weaker with time, and almost 1 million federal workers aren't getting paid! Although these numbers are staggering, they will only continue to get worse if neither side comes to an agreement within Congress. President Trump has already announced that he will not budge until Congress approves his funding of the wall, but they have refused to agree. If this shutdown continues at the rate it is now, the FDA will be shutdown within February, meaning food won't be getting thoroughly inspected before being sent to public grocery stores, which could mean sickness and disease getting into the public.
ReplyDeleteYou’re right, the government shutdown is way worse than a lot of people think and it is causing a ton of problems for almost every citizen in America. Personally for about the first 20 days of the shutdown I didn’t really notice any major problems, but in the last week many have become very apparent. I understand the frustration that the government employees are facing by not being paid for their work, but the strikes that they are going on are putting the safety of our country at risk. TSA has one of the most important jobs, to ensure that no hazardous substances or weaponry is brought onto airplanes, but since many workers have started calling in sick and not reporting for work, it has caused the security to weaken at some airports, and others to get very backed up. Also, you point out that food stamps may be cut. This is a scary fact knowing how many people rely on things like food stamps or free/reduced lunch to get their food, or they will starve. Overall the shutdown has had a ton of negative effects and is much worse than many think.
ReplyDeleteWho knew that something that seems so small to me, is something that is really a huge problem. It is definatley hard as a teenage to keep up with everything that is going on in the world so I knew about the shutdown but had no idea the impact it had. I can’t imagine going to work and not being paid, that is unfair because they are working out of the goodness of their heart while having to deal with people who don’t always show the most respect for them. The government needs to hurry up and find a way to compromise in order to get this figured out because if enough weeks go by, without pay for people, they will stop showing up and the cost of that could be even more detrimental.The cost to pay for these workers with weeks going by and wanting to be reimbursed is something that now also needs to be added to the government funds because in the end they should be paid for their work.
ReplyDeleteI can’t imagine working for 4 weeks and not getting paid at all. Could the TSA and CBP workers stop working because they’re getting paid? That would probably lead to the airports shutting down because of the safety issues. It would put our country on hold, because nobody's going anywhere, a bunch of people aren’t getting paid, and our government is shut down. It would also slow the economy down, because people are less inclined to spend their money, and there wouldn’t be as much money circulating through the economy.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic for econ. But other than that yeah it is sad the the government is shutdown and when your flying you don'y feel really safe. then with all of the workers that aren't getting paid and not going to work. All of this happened because congress doesn't want to fund the wall and so that's why the government shutdown is lasting so long. Besides that you had a great piece and I feel like you did a great job and took your time researching all of the people getting affected.
ReplyDeleteThis is the longest federal government shutdown in US history, and is causing lots of trouble that will just get worse if this problem is not resolved. It is interesting that many of the government workers, especially at airports are not getting paid. This is a very unsafe thing because I know if I wasn’t getting paid for my job, I would not put in my best effort. Spring break is coming up for students across the nation, and it is a very popular travel time. If the shutdown continues, will the government be forced to compensate their workers to ensure the safety of the people flying?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I never realized any of this was occurring due to my lack of not watching the news; however, I am very intrigued to hear that we are in a phase of government shutdown that I never thought would really occur at this moment in time. Without this 18% economic output from the government I believe this will change a lot of viewpoints for people in the next couple months along with the things you mentioned throughout your post. As we keep losing that $1.2 billion each week my question is, when will we be at the breaking point? Will we be able to come back to our full strength of production in the next few months if the government isn’t providing these outputs anymore?
ReplyDeleteSince I am not directly effected by the government shutdown, I have had a lack of interest regarding the topic. This is a good reality check for me, as to understanding what is going on with our government, but what that means for our nations economy. As the weeks continue to pass by, the nation is loosing money by the billions. This will only result in a weak and weak economy. In turn creating a viscous cycle for our nation that is going to have detrimental effects if something is not changed. Workers that are not being paid, can have serious impacts on families, creating the need for an abnormal need for additional assistance. This could even mean families attending the local food pantry. Regardless of why the government has chosen to shut down, out nation needs to step up and understanding that people are suffering and our economy is slowing going down the tank.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely the government shutdown is costly and since it is the longest one in U.S history it will be interesting to see when it ends. I recently read an article that the President will have to choose between GDP growth (keeping the government shutdown) and the wall. Since his reelection campaign is next year and he will probably focus a lot on the strong U.S economy this shutdown should be very concerning to him. If the economy slowed that would be bad for his reelection prospects considering that his handling of the economy is the only thing voters think he is handling well according to public polling. The government will reopen eventually but at what cost to the economy is the main question like you answered in your blogpost.
ReplyDeleteI do not pay attention to what happens in the government but clearly this topic has been widely talked about and brought up on a day to day basis. I did not know this was how it was affecting everyone and I really was surprised when I read that people aren't being paid but are still working while others are just being sent home. Hopefully they have a savings because this must be tragic for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The government shutting down is majorly hurting the economy. It is not right that workers are going without pay, especially for this long. It is also making our economy weak because we are not keeping up with the responsibilities of paying the workers and keeping our country in tact. 18% that the government is putting in to the economy is a big percentage and without this our economy is falling.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to agree and acknowledge that government shutdowns are unfortunate and not good for government employees. I certainly hope they can come to accord on a budget for the next fiscal year as well. However it is important to note that this is only a partial shutdown and that around 70% of the US government is still being paid and running. For those workers whose government employer is shut down(such as the TSA), but who are still working, they actually do get paid back the amount that they would have made during the shutdown, so they get compensated. However, you are correct that those who are sent on leave do not get paid. Overall I believe that it matters and really comes down to the government's role in the US economy. There is much debate over how many government programs should be funded by the taxpayers, and one thing to include is that the US is over 20 trillion dollars in debt. It pretty tough to allocate taxpayer funds and I really hope they come to an agreement. Good column Megan!
ReplyDeleteI don't really pay much attention to what is going on in the world. I don't really ever watch the news or really watch or read anything about the government but this is a very widely talked about topic. I never knew how much this really affected other people and that they would work without paid and others are just being sent home. If you are smart with money you should have made a savings account that you can put money into so that if this happen you have some kinda of money to fall back on until you can find something else you can do for a living.
ReplyDeleteBecause this is the longest government shut down we have experienced in US history and we cannot necessarily predict an end of this shut down, it is unnerving to think about how these negative effects on the economy could only continue. Everyday that the shut down continues affects so many workers around the country that depend on these wages and careers to contribute economically. Certainly, without a government the economy cannot continue to grow and the country can only be negatively effected by this or be at an economic standstill. For these employees they are experiencing a negative external cost as they chose a career that could easily be affected by governmental shifts, despite these workers control.
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I thought it was really interesting to read this article because it has been around the news so much, yet it still confuses me. So this clarified what is really happening a bit for me. However, I think it is absolutely crazy that these government workers haven't been paid for a month. I think the government needs to be 100% in charge of paying these employees back even though they need to set it aside to repay them...technically they should've been paying them anyways if the government wasn't shut down. So therefore, I think the government NEEDS to set aside money for these workers who have been working without pay. I mean imagine airfare without TSA's! I wouldn't want to go on a plane without them!
ReplyDelete-Anika
It's hard to think about the effects of the governemnt shutdown are just going to keep coming. Imagine if a lot of these kind workers quit including the ones that you mentioned about air travel. If those workers decided to quit air travel would be extremely dangerous not only just for the people on the planes but workers at national monuments, and bvigger cities would all be in danger. It's crazy to think about what could happen if the government shutdown continued to happen.
ReplyDeleteI know the government has been shut down for quite a while and I knew workers weren’t getting paid but I never realized exactly how much damage this shutdown is having on America. It’s crazy that the government still has come to an agreement on how to solve this problem. Many of the countries citizens are suffering from this shutdown but it seems there still isn’t much progress to resolve the issue. The economy has been really good since Trump has been elected President but if he keeps this shutdown up and running, the economy would definitely start to decline.
ReplyDeleteThe effects that we are experiencing are starting to become detrimental to our economy. The money it is costing the US and it's workers is a huge downfall and it it apparent that this gets resolved soon. This government shutdown is the largest in history and the effects that we are seeing are just going to get worse. This government standstill needs to get resolved for the good of the US citizens and the GDP. President Trump will have some decisions to make. Will it be the wall our our economy? It will be interesting to see what happens.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the government shutdown is unfair to all the government workers, as well as people around the country. If I was a government worker and forced to work without pay I too would file a lawsuit, especially because this is the longest shutdown in history and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. I think this shutdown has and will continue to have a terrible effect on the economy if it does not end soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat really makes this shutdown hit harder is the fact that it isn't even the first one. There was another shutdown almost exactly a year ago, January 2018, over similar circumstances (the first one was over immigration policies, and this one is over Trump's border wall). Not only that, but this shutdown is the longest in US history, surpassing the 21-day shutdown in 1995-96. What's certain is that this thing is hurting the economy for all the reasons you stated.
ReplyDeleteThis shut down is concerning for many reasons. You made a great point about how shutting down the government in order to lobby for something that would allegedly improve security actually weakens security, because security workers like TSA and CBP agents are no longer being paid. However, it's also concerning from a political view, because this is the longest shutdown the U.S. has experienced, and it's happening with a republican majority. Usually, the government is shut down because of party division; however, right now there is a republican majority in both the house and senate, as well as a republican president, showing that even people in the same party cannot come to an agreement. When people say that it's the democrats' fault and they should just agree with Trump, they fail to realize that even people in Trump's party don't agree with him.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I also do not associate myself with politics and I am not interested in politics, I have heard information about the whole government shutdown. I am aware of the fact that countless government workers are working their regular hours with no pay. I agree that the government shutdown is worse than we thought when I put it all in perspective. The fact that people working their regular jobs are not getting paid is ridiculous. If they are not getting paid then what is the point of going to work everyday? These government workers don’t want to get fired so they still attend their everyday jobs. Obviously people need money to survive and buy the things they need to survive. Without this pay, the government workers are going to start getting desperate and saving every little penny they have for necessities.
ReplyDeleteThe government shutdown had many negative impacts on the U.S. economy. Although many possible solutions have been created, the negative impacts were still worry some. Considering the delays on many businesses that improve human life, this shutdown may result in a tragedy for many consumers worldwide. “Beyond its direct effects on businesses, economists say the shutdown threatens to shake consumer confidence and chip away at retail sales, particularly as unpaid federal workers and contractors forgo spending on cars, new homes and even entertainment.”-http://fortune.com/2019/01/15/the-government-shutdown-2019-update/
ReplyDeleteThe government shutdown is a horrible thing, and went for way too long of a time. Some of the issues with the shutdown is how the government workers aren't being compensated. I agree that it's horrible and that the workers should get some kind of compensation. But one thing that needs to happen is finding a compromise. The longer we don't find a compromise, the more issues there will be.
ReplyDeleteThis is a horrible thing that government workers are going through. Some issues do start with the workers not being appropriately compensated. Although the president should be worried by this shutdown, because if he wants to precede with the wall and stop the shutdown, he's going to have to compromise. I know that in the future he does foresees himself running again, so he will have to understand how the public views him from this problem. Also after watching many news segments on the president, I know he is very passionate about having/building a strong economy. Again harming how the public views him.
ReplyDeleteKaustav Saha
ReplyDeleteNot only does the shutdown affect the day to day lives of many government workers it also negativly effects the day to day lives of people living near cities where there are many government jobs. I remember listening on the radio about a person who owned a food truck that was living paycheck to paycheck and could not afford basic needs because the government workers who were his daily customers were unable to purchase what he was producing. Similarly, there was another story where restaurants in an area with many government jobs had to lay off many of their own workers because they were not getting their main customers who were not being paid due to the shutdown.
The obvious vice of this shutdown in particular is the length with which these federal employees are going without pay. Surviving a month without pay can definitely pose challenges but the burden it imposes on federal workers is absolutely crushing when you consider that 78% of those workers live paycheck to paycheck. Using peoples livelihood as a means to score political points effects everyone as well as the workers. Many TSA agents refused to show up, and those who did were focused on how they were going to afford rent rather than making sure the airport is secure.
ReplyDelete