What we need to thank Ted Cruz for: The Full Cost of the Government Shutdown

The Full Cost of the Government Shutdown
By DIANE ALTER, Contributing Writer, Money Morning • November 13, 2013 • Print | Email

Financial ratings agency Standard & Poor's reported this week the 16-day U.S. government shutdown costs delivered a massive $24 billion hit to the U.S. economy.

Standard & Poor's said the shutdown equaled some $1.5 billion a day and "shaved at least 0.6% off annualized fourth quarter 2013 GDP growth." Moody's Analytics reported similar numbers, saying the shutdown cost $1.4375 billion per day, for a $23 billion wallop to U.S. gross domestic product.

"The bottom line is the government shutdown has hurt the U.S. economy," Standard & Poor's said in a statement. "In September, we expected 3% annualized growth in the fourth quarter because we thought politicians would have learned from 2011 and taken steps to avoid things like a government shutdown and the possibility of a sovereign default. Since our forecast didn't hold, we now have to lower our fourth-quarter growth estimate to closer to 2%."

http://moneymorning.com/2013/11/13/the-full-cost-of-the-government-shutdown/

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BTW The real cost was more like $30 Billion because the shutdown made the cost of money which
the federal government uses go up.