Slashdot Mirror
Shutdown Cost the US Economy $24 Billion
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Time Magazine reports that according to an estimate from Standard & Poor's, the government shutdown, which ended with a deal late Wednesday night after 16 days, took $24 billion out of the U.S. economy and reduced projected fourth-quarter GDP growth from 3 percent to 2.4 percent. The breakdown includes about $3.1 billion in lost government services, $152 million per day in lost travel spending, $76 million per day lost because of National Parks being shut down, and $217 million per day in lost federal and contractor wages in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area alone. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers bore the economic brunt of the shutdown but small businesses also suffered from frozen government contracts and stalled business loans. With the deal only guaranteeing government funding through January 15, the situation could grow worse. 'This is a real corrosion on the economy,' says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. 'If we have to go down a similar road in the near future, the costs are going to continue to add up.'"
If the GAO is correct, it will SAVE circa 4.8 billion per year thanks to outcome based payments
It's an S&P estimation of how much commerce failed to happen as a result of the shutdown. Lots of people cut off travel plans, tightened their belts, and so on; investment was effected to some degree, as well.
The shutdown cut back a lot of spending, both government and otherwise.
There's still a lot of fear that the shutdown's aftereffects could put a squeeze on the holiday quarter, especially if (for example) people with federally-funded jobs tighten back and don't do much holiday shopping out of fear of this shit happening again in January.
$24b is probably conservative to some extent, depending on if S&P was counting only the duration of the shutdown or was extrapolating for future aftereffects.
That's average, and lower than other industrialized countries.
In my country, 20% of my income goes to health care, and everyone finds it normal.
It's the Americans that are weird.
17.9% of American GDP goes on health care, or an average $7,960 per person per year
Compare to Canada, which is 11.4% and $4,314 per person per year
UPS only dropped coverage on employee spouses who had insurance through their own employer. Any who didn't are still covered by UPS. What is wrong with that?
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
I'll compare apples to apples.
http://www.cbo.gov/latest/National-Security/Iraq-and-Afghanistan
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44176
It should be noted that the cost for the wars contain 12 years of appropriations and are actual, while the costs for the ACA contain 10 years of projections.
Had a bone marrow transplant last year. I'm still being treated for same. So far, insurance has paid everything without a quibble, and my total out-of-pocket has been a few thousand dollars.
Note that this followed several bouts of chemotherapy that were also paid without a quibble.
No, my insurance is not a "cadillac plan", it's the middle-of-the-road plan offered by my employer.
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"