Politics
The shocking cost of a federal government shutdown to the public purse
As another government shutdown looms, we look at the cost to the public that these Congressional failures generate.
Congress has again failed to pass a budget, leaving the threat of a government shutdown looming. Though this has become an increasingly common situation for the public and fuels voter frustration weeks before the election, many are unaware of the implications for the average family when the government shuts down.
The Republican-led House of Representatives is struggling to agree on a continuing resolution (CR) that can pass in Congress’ lower chamber.
What is a continuing resolution?
A type of appropritations bill, a continuing resolution is a short term legislative mechanism to fund the government. A CR is used when leaders are unable to fund the government for an entire year.
The cost of the 2018-2019 government shutdown
When the government runs out of money, federal workers whose work goes unfunded are sent home. While they go without pay during the shutdown, they are paid on the backend, which means that the taxpayer funds Congress’s failure.
The Congressional Budget Office, which conducts economic analysis for the legislative branch, found that the 2018/2019 shutdown cost the taxpayer $18 billion. In addition to back pay and other expenses that are paid after the shutdown, the event also slowed economic growth in the first quarter of 2019 by an estimated $8 billion.
How much could a shutdown cost now?
Not knowing if a shutdown will happen and indeed how long makes guessing the damage difficult. However, some estimates argue that each week of a shutdown is estimated to reduce GDP growth by about 0.2 percentage points.
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