Since 1981, the US government has shut down a total of ten times, with the most recent occurring in late 2018 to early 2019. Now, Americans face yet another shutdown and Washington lawmakers only have three days to change this.
In the upcoming week, Congress is getting ready to vote to curtail a full government shutdown, and although it wouldn’t be a permanent solution, it would buy the US government more time. The bipartisan agreement on spending levels wouldn’t be a long-term solution, but it will help millions of Americans avoid the devastating cost of a full government shutdown. What are the costs, one may ask, of a government shutdown?
A government shutdown means that all “non-essential” government agencies would have to stop working and close their doors for use. This means the temporary closures of museums, possible increase in flight delays, immigration court cases compounding, low-income children losing access to Head Start programs, the halt of transportation construction work, as well as millions of federal employees and military service members not getting paid until the shutdown is over.
For context, the last government shutdown resulted in about 420,000 federal employees working without pay and 380,000 employees being furloughed. Government contractors who work for NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies are in a more precarious place as they have no guarantee of getting paid once the government reopens. Along with this, each week the government is shut down, it could cost the US economy over $6 billion dollars.
As this prospect continues to loom over Congress, the hope is that a short-term solution will garner enough time for the US to get back on its feet.
