Government Shutdown

Congress is having trouble with fiscal 2023 and is trying to move forward by handling issues one by one. On the other hand, the White House is completely ready for the final votes while the Senate is still trying to write the bills.

Congress is looking for ways to fund federal agencies without any additional budget requirements until mid-December. However, the momentum for the 10-week stopgap bill may not be enough to prevent a government shutdown.

One Texas Officer’s Announcement Went Viral on Social Media

The announcement of one of the law enforcement officers in Texas became viral on social media. Many people talked about the announcement as the real-life Purge in the United States. “The Purge” is a series of movies where all crimes become legal for twenty-four hours.

If a government shutdown happens, this will be in question in most states because of the lack of funding. Many federal agents will not be able to receive their paychecks, and thus, the economic shrinkage will continue rapidly.

Although Congress is trying its best to prevent this government shutdown in 2023, this has become a kind of tradition for the government. In addition to this, the gap in the budget is increasing every year, and considering the government’s spending, it seems like it will never close in the near future.

Government Shutdown Might Be Longer Than Expected

It is worth remembering that the FY 2022 appropriations were signed on March 15, which led to almost six months of restricted funding compared to the previous year. Considering this, FY 2023 may be much more challenging for Congress and the citizenry.

Experts believe that it is likely that we are going to witness another series of continuing resolutions for 2023. Thus, the government shutdown will be longer than anticipated. The effects of this government shutdown in 2023 will have a devastating effect on the economy.

Without a doubt, the local businesses that mainly serve federal employees will be the ones that will be most affected by this situation. While they are still trying to cover their wounds from the pandemic, the shutdown and its effects could be a huge setback for them.

Besides the federal and service members, their families are also significantly affected by the continuous resolutions. On the other hand, what worries people is that the government has a history of not taking any real action to find a long-term solution to this issue.

The hope of finding a funding solution by the end of September had already turned into a dream. The economy is significantly impacted by events like rising inflation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the unsure state of the president’s budget, and many others.

Government Shutdown 2022

With disagreements continuing on the debt ceiling, Congress has yet to finalize the funding legislation. If everything stays the same as it is we will have a government shutdown. This will surely affect how federal agencies operate despite the pandemic. The results of a government shutdown may be obvious at first, but we’ve never had the government failing to fund itself while there is a pandemic. 

Update: Congress voted to keep the government open, The government shutdown 2022 averted and every federal agency will remain open.

The economics also point out the upsides to the government shutdown where the negative effects of inflation may be reduced to a mere zero. Although whether a government shutdown is a good thing or not, for the time being, it’s for sure that it’s not something that most people prefer; economically.

Why is the government shutting down?

Every year, before October 1st, the federal government needs to pass the funding legislation that decides how much each agency receives. The fiscal year the United States federal government uses starts from October 1 and runs through the last day of September, the following year. If the funding legislation doesn’t pass through, the government fails to fund itself, thus, resulting in a shutdown.

The most notable government shutdown happened not so long ago, in December of 2019, and lasted for more than a month where most federal workers were furloughed. As getting furloughed from your job isn’t helpful, both the Democrats and Republicans are going to try to keep as short as possible or even prevent it from happening.

How long does the government shutdown last?

There is no specific start and end date to a government shutdown. As soon as the government shuts down, it can last for days, weeks, or even months. Although there was never a case where the government shutdowns longer than one month, it can happen. 

The longest government shutdown in the US went on for a little more than a month. It’s more than likely that the possible upcoming events won’t last as long but might take a little longer than expected as both parties are persistent on their opinions about the debt ceiling.

Government Shutdown 2021

A possible government shutdown in 2021 might be ahead of us. While the chances of the government being shutdown is considerably low due to the November Presidential Elections, we can never know whether or not it will happen.

The history of government shutdowns in the United States shows us that it doesn’t occur that often when the administration can change. Since government shutdowns put Americans at a spot where it can cause the president that wants it to be unfavorable, both Trump and the Congress will do their best to avoid a government shutdown.

At the time of writing, it is a little bit early to tell if we will have a government shutdown in 2021 as we’ve had back in late-2018 and early-2019. Here is a flashback of government shutdowns in the past.

History of Government Shutdowns in the United States

Year	Duration	President
1980	1 Day	Jimmy Carter
1981	1 Day	Ronald Reagan
1984	1 Day	Ronald Reagan
1986	1 Day	Ronald Reagan
1990	3 Days	H.W. Bush
1995 November	5 Days	Bill Clinton
1995 – 1996	21 Days	Bill Clinton
2013	16 Days	Barack Obama
2018 January	3 Days	Donald Trump
2018 – 2019	35 Days	Donald Trump

As you can see from above, the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States happened was only a few years ago. Surely, Trump will want to avoid another government shutdown.

The Possibility of a Government Shutdown in 2021

The chances of a government shutdown is quite a bit low. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, both the White House and Congress is doing their best to provide relief to Americans. Since a government shutdown would only make things more complicated, the likelihood of a government shutdown in 2021 is considerably low.

While the lawmakers are getting ready for the HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act) as a supplement to the previous CARES Act stimulus package, a government shutdown would only make the matters worse.

Having all that said, 2021 is going to be a different year as far as the funding legislation goes. All sides are forced to come to an agreement to avoid a government shutdown to keep everyone afloat.