WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
The US federal government entered a partial shutdown, suspending funding for many agencies.
WHAT IS A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?
Much of the federal government gets its funding from annual budget appropriations decided by Congress.
The United State Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
WHAT LED TO THE SHUTDOWN?
First off, welcome to anyone who is new and welcome back to those returning to Wayne State. I hope you all had a fun and safe break. For some this break and
holidays were harder then past years. We are just days away from having the longest government shutdown in US history. According to the Washington Post, 800,000
federal workers are affected by this shutdown. Some were sent home without pay until the government reopens or maybe not at all. And some, like TSA agents, are
forced to work without pay.
But why did this shutdown start? It started because President Donald Trump wants to build a wall on our southern border….a wall. If you remember any of Trump’s
campaign rallies, you know he promised his supporters Mexico would pay for the wall. Over and over again, Trump would chant to his supporters, “Who’s going to
pay for it? Mexico!” That was a lie. Trump has now shutdown the government and put 800,000 people out of work or working for free because congress wouldn’t give
him $5 billion in American taxpayer money for his wall.
Trump told reporters as he was leaving D.C. to go to his own private country club, that he can relate to furloughed workers, saying he thought landlords would
understand and give relief to those who can’t pay their rent. Going on to say all past presidents told him they agree with his shutdown and fight for a wall. All living
past presidents have denied this. Trump will tell lie after lie.
holidays were harder then past years. We are just days away from having the longest government shutdown in US history. According to the Washington Post, 800,000
federal workers are affected by this shutdown. Some were sent home without pay until the government reopens or maybe not at all. And some, like TSA agents, are
forced to work without pay.
But why did this shutdown start? It started because President Donald Trump wants to build a wall on our southern border….a wall. If you remember any of Trump’s
campaign rallies, you know he promised his supporters Mexico would pay for the wall. Over and over again, Trump would chant to his supporters, “Who’s going to
pay for it? Mexico!” That was a lie. Trump has now shutdown the government and put 800,000 people out of work or working for free because congress wouldn’t give
him $5 billion in American taxpayer money for his wall.
Trump told reporters as he was leaving D.C. to go to his own private country club, that he can relate to furloughed workers, saying he thought landlords would
understand and give relief to those who can’t pay their rent. Going on to say all past presidents told him they agree with his shutdown and fight for a wall. All living
past presidents have denied this. Trump will tell lie after lie.
HOW MUCH WOULD A WALL COST
Estimates range from 8 billion dollar to 67 billion dollar or more. Based on Trump's 2017 budget request for 2.6 billion dollar to plan, design and build 75 miles of wall, one Senate Democrat estimated the per-mile cost would be about 37 million dollar, or nearly 67 billion dollar for the entire 2,000 mile border. A July 2018 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office warned that the wall might "cost more than projected, take longer than planned or not full perform as expected."
WOULD A WALL EVEN WORK?
Most experts doubts that a physical wall would do much to reduce illegal drugs pouring into the country each year. As part of a set of tools to combat illegal immigration, however, physical barriers could help.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump's plan, saying a fence built along Israel's border with Egypt has been a "great success" in keeping out migrants, mainly from african nations.
HOW COMMON IS A SHUTDOWN?
There have been 12 government shutdown in the US since 1981, although ranging in duration. The longest occurred under Bill Clinton, lasting a total of 21 days from December 1995 to January 1996.
CONSEQUENCES OF A SHUTDOWN?
A government shutdown would cost the US roughly 6.5 billion dollar a week, according to a report by S&P Global analysts released in December.
The analysis, which based its numbers off previous shutdowns, also predicted potentially devastating ramifications for the economy.
Nearly 1 million people would not receive regular paychecks in the event of a shutdown.
