We’re twenty-two days in, and many are still asking: what the heck is a government shutdown? The government can shut down – just like that? Well, yes. And the thing is, this phenomenon is solely American.
Such shutdowns occur when congress, the body in charge of passing legislation, taxing citizens, and allocating funds, fails to make the necessary appropriations by agreeing on a federal budget. When the fiscal year is up and congress can’t agree on a budget, the government receives no authorized funds and goes into panic mode. That’s what happened on the first of this month.
Effective immediately, at least 600,000 federal workers were furloughed—in other words, temporarily released from work without pay. There they remain, twenty-two days later. While some workers designated “essential” remain at their posts (including law enforcers, air traffic controllers, and postal workers), many government offices now sit vacant, national parks stand closed, and federal services, like social security distributions, have slowed.
For a government shutdown, this is typical. Such shutdowns have happened before, often for short times, though sometimes for longer. In the past, Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Obama, and Trump have all dealt with their fair share of shutdowns. The longest, a total of thirty-four days in length, occurred back in 2019.
With that fundamental question answered, two others arise: why is it happening now and why does it even matter?
To answer the first, it’s happening now because the spending bill currently put forward by Senate Republicans, who control both chambers of congress and the White House, cannot secure the sixty votes needed to pass.
So far, almost every Democrat and a few Republicans, like Rand Paul, remain firm against the spending bill, citing the already high healthcare costs which would further skyrocket for average and disadvantaged Americans should the current bill pass. For those living paycheck to paycheck or reliant on premium tax credits scheduled to expire, they say this bill could cost lives.
On the other hand, a simple message posted on the website of the Housing and Urban Development Department sums up the Republican take on the shutdown. It proclaims that “The Radical Left in Congress [have] shut down the government.” Several Republican leaders, including Trump, have called out Democrats for being resistant to ending the shutdown and accused them of wanting to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Yet, so far, this claim that illegal immigrants have received or will receive free healthcare remains unsubstantiated. Regardless, this divide over the issue of healthcare and of blame for the shutdown furthers the shutdown itself.
Finally, this shutdown matters for several key reasons. It stands out, in part, because President Trump has taken matters into his own hands and in the midst of this shutdown, felt the liberty to fire over 4,000 furloughed workers, however constitutionally dubious this action is. However, citing its “lawlessness,” a judge has paused this order—but, only temporarily.
In addition, some politicians and citizens on all sides describe this shutdown as a distraction—whether that be from issues like the national debt, or controversies such as the Epstein Files, which have yet to be released.
For the economy, this period of inactivity may also, as in past shut downs, have a slight negative effect. In places where National Parks drive local and regional economies, for example, this shut down has already caused detrimental decreases in tourism and revenue.
Such problems only worsen as time goes on. And so far, it looks like agreement isn’t getting any closer. But, really, who can tell how long it will go on?
