Closure could affect students if not resolved soon
Our Twitter feeds blew up Tuesday morning with witty remarks about the shutdown of our government, including the hash tag “#governmentshutdownpickuplines.” It was like the countdown to New Year’s. There was no way I was going to sleep through something this serious. As the timer on my television has now started to count up instead of down, I have developed my view on the subject.
While the government shutdown may not affect the general population of students here on our campus, most can’t help but wonder how this shutdown is affecting the rest of our nation.
To most, the estimate of 800,000 furloughed government employees seems small in the big picture of the shutdown; they are the least of the worries of the United States.
It sounds simple; a government is shut down, therefore, it should be spending less money. Sounds like a movement in a positive direction for a change. Wrong. In just a week’s time, our economy could start to see the impact of this shutdown, and your Twitter feed might not read the same way.
It costs about $1.6 billion dollars a week for the government to shut down at the current rate. This rate will only inflate if the shutdown continues. While a short-term effect is almost nothing to the U.S. economy, a month could really show an impact on the American GDP, which could eventually have an impact on you and me.
Of course, government employees feeling the pain of this shutdown are almost guaranteed to receive compensation for their time off. The unpredictable element sits on Wall Street. With the noise the government shutdown is making, many investors may choose safer options, while some may choose this time to invest.
There are other effects to think about as well. The Center for Disease Control is no longer monitoring diseases and outbreaks. Federal funding of meals for senior citizens and children could start to see an impact. In the event of a prolonged shutdown, veterans could lose much-needed government benefits. The National Institute of Health will halt research into life-threatening diseases and deny any potential new patients. Pell grants and student loans could see major delays as well. If this shutdown were to continue on its current track, we could see even more detrimental effects on our country and some would hit even closer to home.
Whether this government shutdown drastically affects you or anyone you know, it does affect our country. Regardless of the length of this shutdown, it is still a serious matter and the leaders of our government should treat it as such.