Impact of the Government Shutdown

When the government shuts down, government departments lose the ability to properly pay their workers. Non essential government workers were furloughed and essential government workers had to go into work despite not getting paid. While some departments managed to find extra money to pay the workers, that money quickly deteriorated, leaving workers stranded without paychecks. Under U.S. law, furloughed workers are always to be compensated. Congress signed GEFTA (Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019) into law in January of 2019. GEFTA states that employees of the federal government who are furloughed or required to continue working during a funding lapse would receive pay for the time the government is shut down. However, during this most recent government shutdown, the Trump administration toyed with the idea of not paying furloughed workers. They interpreted the law to mean they departments have permission to repay furloughed workers but are not required to. Military families are also struggling with lack of pay. According to CNN, military families are struggling with the economic uncertainty the government shutdown brings as they live paycheck to paycheck. Many military families began visiting food banks and stocking up on food to prepare for the hardship. According to the Military Family Advisory, a quarter of active duty military families face food insecurity, meaning the lack of pay would just worsen and add to an already existing issue. In the aftermath of the shutdown, the Military Family Advisory is working with congress to help protect military families in the future. 

Along with government funding being stopped, government funded associations like the Smithsonian were also shut down. For D.C., this meant beloved museums and the National Zoo were no longer open to the public. The Smithsonian managed to use reserved funds to stay open until October 12, when they unfortunately had to fully shut down. While, at the National Zoo, the animals are still being cared for, this has a much bigger effect on our city than most realize. Not only does the shutdown affect people who work within these government funded associations, it affects the level of tourism our city attracts. Tourists are financially crucial to the city. D.C. sees about 27 million visitors per year, averaging at $11 billion in revenue that is in turn used to make the city run. Without these funds, the city is unable to continue functioning to the highest degree possible. This can impact public work projects such as building new roads and developments. As for the workers, just as in the government, many non-essential workers were sent home while 

some stayed to take care of the animals and buildings. The museums support 726,000 jobs annually and contribute $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Not to mention government funded associations that are not within our city, like the National Parks. They were forced to furlough over half of their employees, halting visitor center services, educational services, and even maintenance within the parks. This has many effects on us, showing the real tragedy that the government shutdown really causes.

Another impact from the government shutdown that has a critical impact is the end of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and food stamps. In 2024, 41.7 million Americans received SNAP benefits each month. SNAP benefits ran out on November 1st and the shutdown ended 12 days later, leaving millions of Americans without access to food for over a week and a half. As the shutdown continued, most states scrambled to provide more money to their foodbanks and some provided direct financial aid. For families that struggle financially, SNAP benefits help them buy other necessities. SNAP benefits can only be used for food, but they allow families to spend money on other commodities, like clothes, rent, bills, and medicine. When SNAP benefits are cut, homelessness increases as more people are forced to choose between food and shelter. SNAP benefits can also be crucial in the development of children. When children are underfed they’re at higher risk for mental and physical health issues. Lack of food can increase chances of asthma, chronic diseases, poor oral health, and can weaken the body's immunity. Children who don’t have consistent access to food also have increased risk of anxiety and depression. They’re also more likely to struggle academically and misbehave in school. SNAP benefits also increase circulation in the economy. Every dollar federally funded by SNAP benefits generates $1.79 in economic activity. Lack of SNAP benefits decreases economic circulation and damages local economies. SNAP benefits not only lessen access to food, but exposes the U.S. to further economic instability. 

The shutdown of SNAP benefits isn't the only thing that is harming the country's economy. There are loan and grant delays as well, not to mention the long term effects on economic productivity. According to PBS, over the span of a 6-week shutdown, about $11 billion in economic activity will be lost. This means that government funded projects are cancelled, loans are unable to be funded, and government agencies and funded associations will likely receive less money. The federal government is also responsible for setting the interest rates for our country, but it is expected that the federal reserve will not deliver a third interest rate cut this December, which was widely expected and needed throughout the country. The shutdown also affects students. Their student loans are delayed, leaving them stranded without money to pay tuition. 

The last effect is the transportation and flight delays. Over 1,000 U.S. flights were cancelled throughout this past government shutdown. This equates to about 6% of flights per day. This, in turn, inconvenienced thousands of travelling Americans. Additionally, these delays and cancellations did not end as soon as the shutdown was over. It took time to resolve their occurrence in airports. These flights have primarily taken such a big hit because of the short staffing of essential employees. Many employees, mainly air traffic controllers, have been calling in sick in order to work other jobs and make ends meet for their families. In response to these staffing shortages, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) originally issued an emergency order to cut all flights by 4%, which rose to 10% by the end of that week. Additionally, the workers who still came to work have been under tireless conditions, and many are still working second jobs in order to afford food for their families. This not only affects the workers, but can cause a lot of stress for travelers. Many people have gotten their flights canceled only hours before it was supposed to take off, sometimes leaving them stranded in a strange place. Others are buying backup tickets just off the chance that their flights get canceled. All of these people have one thing in common - they have somewhere they need to be. These delays are going on over Thanksgiving weekend, causing a lot of distress to travelers trying to get home to their families in time for the holidays.

The shutdown has affected almost everyone in this country in ways that hadn’t been thought of. The U.S. survived the longest government shutdown in the history of this country, and are still looking at the aftermath. The effects of the shutdown show how dependent the country is on the government, and how much one disagreement can affect the lives of everyone.