3.7
October 1, 2013

8 Interesting Points regarding the US Government Shut Down.

Update: Republican Debt Crises Have Killed 900,000 Jobs: Study (huffingtonpost.com)

 

Update: Shutdown: US ‘Days’ from Causing Worldwide Economic Disaster, says World Bank – ”If this comes to pass, it could be a disastrous event for the developing world, and that will in turn greatly hurt developed economies as well.“ (independent.co.uk)

Government Shutdown: White House budget office has directed federal agencies to close.

“It’s happening because the Republican majority in the House of Representatives insisted on only passing funding bills that had some repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) attached.”

~

“One faction of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government doesn’t get to shut down the entire government just to re-fight the results of an election,” [President Obama] said during a statement at the White House.

Unfortunately, they just did.

Update:

The Republican-led House of Representatives insisted on delaying President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform – dubbed Obamacare – as a condition for passing a bill.

More than 700,000 federal employees face unpaid leave with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is over.

It is the first shutdown in 17 years and the dollar fell early on Tuesday.

Goldman Sachs estimates a three-week shutdown could shave as much as 0.9% from US GDP this quarter…

As lawmakers grappled with the latest shutdown, the 17 October deadline for extending the government’s borrowing limit looms even larger.

On that date, the US government will reach the limit at which it can borrow money to pay its bills, the so-called debt ceiling.

House Republicans have also demanded a series of policy concessions – including on the president’s health law and on financial and environmental regulations – in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

~

> “800,000 federal employees are now forced into unpaid leave. Almost all of NASA shut down, except for Mission Control in Houston. Nearly 3,000 Federal Aviation Administration safety inspectors were furloughed along with most of the National Transportation Safety Board’s employees. National parks closed along with the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo.”

The Dept. of the Interior

This is a detailed list of the jobs being furloughed, etc. JUST in the Dept. of the Interior… I’m especially bummed about the USGS laying off 8,580 employees! Not to mention… When the National Park Service ‘Shuts Down’ no one gets to go to the National Parks! “Park facilities would generally not be available to park visitors. Visitor centers would be closed and access to park areas denied, including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Independence Hall, Alcatraz, and the Washington Monument. ”

> “There have been 41 attempts in the US House of Representatives to delay, repeal, or amend for purposes of delay or repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. There has also been one related loss in the US Supreme Court.

> Those supporting this shut down have caused harm to our people, our economy, and now even the families and children of uniformed service members.

> “Here’s a link to an article about Obama signing a bill so we can continue paying our soldiers. Since a lot of the people in the military lean toward the Republican side, he could have let them suffer and turn against the Republican party. Instead he chose to pass the first bill he could to pay them. That deserves some credit.” Source.

> And while we’re here, for all the Republicans on TV that say that since they still have the majority in the House that the American people have given them the mandate to repeal the ACA, rremember that thanks to gerrymandering the Republicans managed to lose the popular vote for Representatives but still control the majority of seats.

> So are the politicians no longer getting paid? Oh, you.

> “The government shutdown is a problem, but the really dangerous thing would be to not raise the debt ceiling two weeks from now. There were 17 government shutdowns of varying duration between 1976 and 1996 (Source: NYTimes). The US government’s failure to pay its debts is without precedent. If this bullshit isn’t resolved quickly, the financial markets and economy will react very negatively and likely threaten what little economic recovery we’ve got going on. It is not unreasonable to say that we could be looking at a new recession if that were to happen.” Quote.

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