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Government Shutdown - Who Cares? [1]

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Date: 2023-09-30  

September 30, 2023, and the United States Government is poised to shut down at midnight. Despite a bipartisan Senate funding bill that would keep the government open at least through November 17, hard line extremist right wing members of the GOP, like Matt Gaetz of Florida tanked a House vote on a spending bill on September 29. In a floor speech before the final vote, Gaetz said, “The continuing resolution offered today is a bad deal for Republicans. That’s why I’m voting against it.” Gaetz and his other right wing allies are demanding severe spending cuts for most federal government programs as well as social safety nets for some of the must vulnerable of our citizens.

If the politicians fail to come to some agreement, and it looks unlikely that they will, this will be the fourth government shutdown in 10 years. A shutdown might involve the furloughing of nearly a million federal workers across the country which will have a direct impact on the economies where these people live. For example, in Northern Virginia, 60 percent of the riders on the Virginia Regional Express (VRE) commuter line into the DC area and south to Fort Belvoir, VA, are military or civilian employees of the federal government. In a shutdown, they won’t be commuting to work which will drive VRE into the red rather quickly. With no biweekly (monthly for military) paychecks coming in, spending in local business establishments will go down. An extended shutdown, while it might drive the economy into recession, certainly won’t help the country’s economic situation. The shutdown in 2011, caused Standard & Poor to downgrade the United States’ credit rating.

The longest shutdown in U.S. history was from December 22, 2018, to January 3, 2019, when Senate Democrats opposed a bill that would’ve funded Donald Trump’s border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. According to a YouGov/The Economist poll immediately after the shutdown ended, 52 percent of registered voters blamed Trump the most for it happening.

Unfortunately, with so many shutdowns in such a relatively short period of time, they’ve become routine, and most Americans don’t seem to pay them any mind. When they do happen, though, Americans usually blame the Republicans who are the ones most often causing them, or they have since 2010. In 2011, 53 percent of Americans blamed Republicans in Congress for the fiscal standoff, as compared to 29 percent who blamed President Obama and the Democrats. Given the extensive media coverage of the current conflict, and the penchant the extremists have for making public statements, if there’s a shutdown on September 1, 2023, when Americans start to feel the pinch, they’re likely to blame the Republicans. With the 2024 elections just 13 months away, they are likely to express that displeasure at the polls.

There’s more than enough time between now and the elections for Americans to stew over the pain they suffer if the government shuts down for more than a few days, and it’s highly likely that all but the most die-hard Republican voters will make those considered responsible pay. So, when Matt Gaetz says keeping the government open is a ‘bad deal for Republicans,’ one has to wonder just which Republicans he’s referring to. Could it be the members of Congress who continue to draw full pay during a shutdown while essential government workers are required to work without getting paid? Maybe it’s the ultra-rich who benefit from tax cuts that none of the hard liners are recommending be ended? It’s certainly not the working class Republicans who are either government employees or military who will be taking it in the shorts, or the local business people who will see their income drop precipitously. A few of the wealthy will also take a hit. Because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for instance, will probably furlough over 90 percent of its 4,600 employees, putting Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on hold, with all the financial consequences that would entail. A shutdown, especially an extended one—and given the highly polarized state of the Congress currently it’s expected to be—could severely impact small businesses trying to secure government-backed funding through the Small Business Administration (SBA) which will be forced to shutter its offices on September 1 if no spending bill is passed.

Just in case you’ve forgotten, national parks and monuments will also be closed as well.

Who really cares about the short and long-term consequences of this current bit of political theater? It’s hard to say, but I know who should care. Every American of voting age should care deeply, and should exercise their franchise to send a clear message that enough is enough. We elect people to look out for our interests, and right now, far too many of them are doing anything but.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/30/2196483/-Government-Shutdown-Who-Cares

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