The Economy Can’t Shrug Off the Shutdown Forever
Idled federal employees and contractors roughly match the job losses from a recession.
This isn’t going well.
Photographer: Mark Makela/Getty Images North AmericaFor months now, commentators and economists have been warily eyeing the U.S. economy and asking what will cause the next recession. Risky corporate debt seemed to be building up in the system, but with profits robust and interest rates low, servicing the debt didn’t seem to be a problem. The Federal Reserve raised rates by a modest amount, but signaled that it didn’t have much appetite for future increases. President Donald Trump’s trade war didn’t seem to be having much effect yet.
Then came the government shutdown. In an attempt to force Congress to build a southern border wall, Trump has caused about 800,000 government workers to be furloughed, or in some cases work without pay.