It looks like the furlough may continue for quite some time. Some pundits have speculated that the government shutdown may be long term, continuing through the next government crisis when we hit the debt ceiling on October 17th. This could impact the economy in the DC area and in areas around National Parks where hotels and restaurants would suffer from their closure. If the shutdown is short, just a few days, it will have little impact on the nations’ economy.
The shutdown will have little effect on the President who doesn’t think his presence is necessary in Washington and will leave this weekend for his scheduled trip to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. He said yesterday that he has no part to play in the budget impasse. The federal government being out of money won’t stop the President from spending many millions on this trade trip. One wonders what US products he intends to promote in Brunei and the other countries.
More of will be affected by the shutdown and what won’t be affected is here. Which agencies and programs are closed can be found here.
For a bit of fun, 23 things that definitely not closed around the Capitol.