The United States is getting ready for a government shutdown this weekend because Congress can’t agree on how to spend money. This happens when the new US money year starts on October 1, and there are disagreements about how much money the government should use.
A government shutdown means that many government workers won’t get paid, and it can cause problems for the country.
1. No Pay for Federal Workers
If there’s a shutdown, many federal workers won’t get their paychecks. This includes hundreds of thousands of people. Some workers, like those in the military, will still have to work without getting paid.
An organization called the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) says nearly 1.8 million federal workers wouldn’t get paid during a full shutdown. About 850,000 workers who aren’t considered super important would have to stop working temporarily. When the government starts again, everyone will get their money, but they’ll get it for the time they missed.
2. Only Essential Services
Some government services are considered really important and will keep going during a shutdown. For example, people will still get their benefit checks, and some workers like air traffic controllers and border patrol agents will keep doing their jobs. However, many other services will be affected, like applying for Social Security and Medicare, checking if food and the environment are safe, and visiting national parks. If the shutdown lasts a long time, these problems will get worse.
3. The Impact on Money
If there’s a shutdown, it can hurt the country’s economy. Economists at a big bank called Goldman Sachs say that for every week of a shutdown, the country’s economy will grow less by 0.2%. This can last for two to three weeks, and it will happen because neither side in Congress wants to give in quickly. If the shutdown ends before the year is over, the economy will grow again, but it won’t make up for all the losses. Another group called Oxford Economics says that not having government workers will make the economy grow less by 0.1% each week, and this damage won’t go away.
A shutdown can also affect the economy in other ways. Government workers who don’t get paid will spend less money, and this can hurt businesses. The stock market, where people buy and sell company shares, can also go down because of the shutdown.
4. No Government Data
Economists are worried that a shutdown will stop the government from telling everyone important information. This is a problem for the US Federal Reserve, which uses data to decide how much interest to charge on loans. Without new data, the bank will have trouble deciding how to help the economy. The bank has already said it won’t raise interest rates too fast because prices are going up. But without new data, it’s hard to know if this is a good idea.
A short shutdown won’t hurt the country too much, but if lawmakers can’t agree quickly, it can become a big problem.
