I am not much for news, I listen to MP3s and watch Netflix, I don’t have Cable TV, anf I don’t subscribe to any newspapers. So I get all my news from random hits on the web, if it peaks my interest, I do a Google search for more info…
The image to the left caught my eye on Facebook today and on any other day it would seem like a funny little saying, which is what I took it as at first.
It wasn’t until I saw a second post on Facebook that it started to click… Some government was shutting down. Now before you state “Well Duh, The United States” you need to remember these key facts. 1. I don’t have any source of News (As mentioned above), 2. I am Canadian, 3. Facebook is International, and 4. The Earth does not revolve around the United States (no matter how much they think it does). Therefore, the word Government, could mean anyone’s government and not the US Specifically.
That being said, Yes its the US Government, they’ve shutdown because of, as CTV would put it, “political haggling over the health care law”. It seems that the Obama Administration and the Congress have locked horns over the Health Care reform going on (dubbed “Obama Care”).
Approximately 800,000 US Government workers have been put on unpaid leave (with the possibility of being paid retroactively upon return at the end of the situation). All but the essential services (like the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Air Traffic Controllers, etc) have been put on indefinite hold which could possible last a few weeks.
Some fear that if the downage goes on for longer than a few weeks, the world could see a dramatic downturn in the economy. Now, the articles I read only commented on how it would directly effect the states and Canada, however to be serious, If the states goes financial bellies up, then so does a lot more countries than Canada. The United States is a major importer of just about anything you can name, from Coffee (over 4 billion a year) to oil.
This stand off couldn’t come at a worse time either. October 17th the United States Congress is supposed to vote on raising the debt ceiling. The US Government owes roughly $17 Trillion ($17, 000,000,000,000) (4250 years of coffee importing) to the Federal Reserve. And now Congress has to decided with the US will be allowed to borrow any more. If they vote no, they will tumble into default causing economic ramifications world wide. (To understand the US Debt Limit, watch this video).
Here are a list of articles I found (and read) in regards to the situation and its possible effect on the Economy:
What the U.S. government shutdown might mean for Canada
U.S. government shutdown: What to expect if it happens
U.S. government shutdown poses risk to Canada’s economy
No More Panda Cam: How The Government Shutdown Will Affect Things We Care About