By Angel Lizardi |Staff Writer| $24 billion--That’s how much is estimated the United States government lost during the shutdown according Standard and Poors, an economist group based in New York. The firm said that the shutdown caused it to cut its forecast of gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter by about 0.6 percentage points, lowering the gross GDP from 3 percent to 2 percent. The shutdown, which ended last Tuesday, took three weeks to solve and affected hundreds of thousands of workers. The breakdown of some of the economic costs due to the shutdown includes: $3.1 billion lost in government … [Read more...] about Government shutdown cost $24 billion
Shutdown
Government back open for business
By Daniel DeMarco |Staff Writer| On Oct. 16, 2013, President Barack Obama signed a deal passed by Congress, ending the partial government shutdown. Cutting it very close, Obama officially signed the deal around 9:30 p.m. the night before the country lost its ability to continue borrowing money. The deal was originally negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat leader for Nevada) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican leader for Kentucky). Both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the plan. According to Aljazeera, the Senate passed the deal by 81 votes to 18 and the House passed it, … [Read more...] about Government back open for business
Federal Government Shutdown: What’s closed and what’s open?
By Angel Lizardi |Staff Writer| The federal government shut down, leaving many federal employees without work until the Republican and Democratic representatives can reach an agreement on a short-term budget. According to the Wall Street Journal, “More than 800,000 government workers will go without pay.” According to NPR, departments that would be affected include, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASA, which would have to furlough 97 percent of its workforce, rendering the Mars Rover Curiosity, unattended, and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would lose all of its … [Read more...] about Federal Government Shutdown: What’s closed and what’s open?
Obamacare leads to government shut down
By Andy Quintana |Staff Writer| The federal budget failed to pass early October, because the “Grand Old Party” wanted to defund Obamacare once again. Obamacare should not have been involved in the decision to pass the federal budget. Obamacare should have been a separate issue from the budget altogether. Republicans have made efforts to put a holt on Obamacare for a long time. As the time came for a new federal budget to be created GOP seized an opportunity to defund Obamacare through; fear that a federal budget would not be passed, leading to a government shutdown. USA Today explained, “the motivation House Republicans had in placing an amendment to defund … [Read more...] about Obamacare leads to government shut down