Posted on 01/26/2019 8:21:42 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
In our Principles of Microeconomics courses, we sometimes consider whether a firm should shut down some line of production. A firm shuts down when it ceases operations—when it closes down and stops its production. The firm stops spending money on everything except its fixed costs.
A federal government “shutdown” has a completely different meaning.
The Definition of a Government Shutdown There has been much handwringing over the current government shutdown that began on December 22 of last year. The Treasury Department, with its Daily Treasury Statements, has provided us with details regarding federal spending through January 18. So we have the data on the first four weeks of the shutdown. Let’s try to determine the definition of a government shutdown.
In order to have some baseline for comparison, consider the budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. The Treasury Department reports on all of the dollars withdrawn from federal accounts. In one sense, this is all federal spending. In FY 2018, withdrawals from federal accounts totaled $13,961.9 billion. That works out to a daily average of $38.3 billion.
If we define federal spending as the total withdrawals from federal accounts, then average daily spending during the shutdown is about 8.5 percent higher than it was in FY 2018.
In the first 28 days of the shutdown, the feds' total withdrawals were $1,163 billion. That’s a daily average of $41.5 billion. If we define federal spending as the total withdrawals from federal accounts, then average daily spending during the shutdown is about 8.5 percent higher than it was in FY 2018.
(Excerpt) Read more at fee.org ...
It seems like the headline doesn’t agree with the article: Headline says spending dropped during shutdown, article says spending went up during shutdown …
I’m afraid the Federal Leviathan is self-aware and self-perpetuating, has been for a long time.
So the ‘shutdown’ can pay for the wall!
Non-citizens who might vote opposite of traditional American values.
And our bill of rights completely eliminated and US citizens rights determined by some global entity.
This is where the Democrats are taking us.
What hasn’t affected voters after three weeks will similarly not affect them after three years. If Republicans really want to prove how unnecessary our $4 trillion federal government is, they should keep it shut down through 2021.
By my math a savings of nearly $60 billion, not chicken feed. Enough to fully build the wall twice over.
Our country is letting in the third world which will also lead to devastating consequences.
The people are leaning more to Socialism which will bury the Republic.
The money is about to be spent on back pay.
Departmwnts have to be shut down..1/3 would be a good start.
Stop giving taxpayer’s money to illegals.
Else it’s all BS.
Of course, not a doubt in my mind that EVERY ‘laid off employee’ that partook in free meals from commercial establishments will use and encourage ‘others’ to use the restaurant, and those that partook in receiving money and assistance from food banks etc will make a generous donation to said food bank or shelter or non profit that ‘offered’ the free meals.
(I AM SURE SOME MAY BUT.......)
If all these restaurants and food banks offered meals etc to the newly unemployed, why didn’t the cafeterias of the HOUSE & SENATE offer free meals to the laid off employees?
Instead of cities and banks etc offering ‘low or no interest loans’, why didn’t the GOVERNMENT UNION offer same?
If I were a Government Employee and a member of the UNION, that is who I would be questioning — WHAT GOOD are/were you.
I quit should be the answer-— Then take your one time dues and open an ‘emergency account’ with generous ‘overdraft privileges’ in case one gets in another bind.
MAYBE some good can come out of this...
And all of that will be made up before the end of the fiscal year and they will come back to the taxpayers to get more money through the government’s monopoly on force when they want more.
JoMa
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.