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TexasTowelie

(111,278 posts)
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 11:23 PM Oct 2015

Federal government shutdown could hurt businesses, workers

Congress is once again threatening a shutdown later this year, ostensibly over the usual debt ceiling dispute and disagreements over a spending bill. Political experts say it is mostly because 40 Republican representatives who call themselves the Freedom Caucus want to reduce the power of the speaker of the House. The businesses and workers punished by the shutdown, should it occur, probably won’t much care what the reason is.

Economists estimated fourth-quarter 2013 growth in gross domestic product was 0.6 percentage points lower than it would have been without the shutdown, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Bureau of Economic Analysis says growth that quarter was 2.6 percent. Had the government kept operating, fourth-quarter growth would have been 3.2 percent.

The shutdown affected businesses in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. Obviously, businesses that relied directly on government spending to do things like provide computers and paper to government agencies made no sales over those 16 days.

Not so obviously, when 600,000 to 800,000 federal workers aren’t getting paid, the effect reverberates throughout the economy.


Read more: http://www.abqjournal.com/663587
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Federal government shutdown could hurt businesses, workers (Original Post) TexasTowelie Oct 2015 OP
The economy is so shaky now that some in the Fed are talking negative interest rates DJ13 Oct 2015 #1
That's what they want. Makes the president look bad yeoman6987 Oct 2015 #3
It not only puts so many out of work 2naSalit Oct 2015 #2

DJ13

(23,671 posts)
1. The economy is so shaky now that some in the Fed are talking negative interest rates
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 11:33 PM
Oct 2015

A shutdown would be catastrophic to the economy at this time.

 

yeoman6987

(14,449 posts)
3. That's what they want. Makes the president look bad
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 12:26 AM
Oct 2015

Those 40 can vote no. Don't we have enough votes without them?

2naSalit

(86,031 posts)
2. It not only puts so many out of work
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 11:57 PM
Oct 2015

It shuts down all research and destroys many projects in progress as well... like throwing all the funding for any of those projects in the trash.

Not that they give a rat's behind about science.

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