In early October of this year, the United States government was shut down, and over 4,100 workers have received news that their employment is being put on hold. Although the official White House website states that “Democrats have shut down the government,” there are many factors that led to this event. So, what causes this, and what does it mean for the economy?
With the end of this September comes a new fiscal year, and at this time, a new budget is decided on to manage federal spending. When Congress fails to pass a funding bill for the upcoming year, sacrifices like employment for federal workers must be made to cut costs and account for budgeting gaps until a final budget is decided upon, after which workers will be repaid.
This year’s shutdown was a result of disagreements in the Senate when Republicans pushed for a bill that did not include an annual extension of premium tax reductions for Americans that benefit the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Democrats wished for a bill that includes the premiums, as an estimated 4 million Americans will be uninsured without it, but Republicans pushed for the bill with the cut because including the extensions could be costly for the federal government.
Disagreements like this one have been the cause of many government shutdowns in American history. When our political parties cannot decide which services to spend money on, the funding of many of those services has to be put on hold. Federal workers whose positions are deemed “nonessential” are placed on furlough until the end of the shutdown; however, this year, these employees are anticipating to have between 30 and 60 weeks before the notices take effect.
According to statistics listed by CBS News, furlough notices have been issued to several agencies, affecting the following as of mid-October:
315 workers in the Department of Commerce
466 in the Department of Education
442 in the Department of Housing and Urban Development
187 in the Department of Energy
176 in the Department of Homeland Security
1,446 in the Department of Treasury
1,100 and 1,200 in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Another significant group that has been influenced by the shutdown is air traffic control. Nationwide, around 11,000 air traffic controllers have been placed on furlough, leading to a shortage in airports. This is because, despite being classified as essential employees, many of these workers call in sick while they are not being paid during the shutdown. Burbank Airport was entirely devoid of air traffic controllers for a near 6-hour period last week, and all around America, travellers are experiencing flight delays.
Over 420,000 workers were required to work without pay during the last government shutdown, which occurred during Donald Trump’s first presidency in 2019. It lasted over the span of 35 days, making it the longest government shutdown in American history.
We can hope that record will stay in the past and that federal workers will soon be able to return to their jobs and be reimbursed for their work; however, that ending isn’t yet in sight.
