U.S.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
When you go through the title, you might be wondering how can the world’s most powerful
nation’s government SHUT DOWN?
What can be the reason behind this?
Whether it’s a partial or complete shutdown?
What can be its consequences on other developing/developed nations?
US Federal Government entered into a partial shutdown mode from 22nd December 2018 to 25th
January 2019 suspending funds for several agencies, making this the longest U.S. Government
shutdown in history. It’s not a complete shutdown mode. Most of the ministries, departments
stopped working and the majority of the Government employees were not receiving their
remuneration. Hundreds of thousands of other workers were reporting for work, and a patchwork
of services remained open to the public. However, it’s not surprising to note that it’s not the first
time in U.S. history to have shutdown. There had been 12 government shutdowns in the U.S history
since 1981.

What led to this shutdown?

In August 2018, U.S. Senate passed a bill expressing that $ 850 billion were being dispensed for
the expenses of U.S. Federal Government. At the point when this bill was passed to President
Donald Trump, he further requested to include $ 5.7 billion so as to make a wall between US-
Mexico border. The primary motive behind this was to prevent illegal immigrants from Mexico to
the U.S.A which would reduce drug use and crime rates. The Democrats vehemently opposed the
demand but after Trump refused and the shutdown went into effect the following day.

How much would a wall cost?

In light of Trump’s 2017 budget, $ 2.6 billion will be required to plan, structure and design 75
miles of wall and the expense is estimated to be $ 67 billion for the whole 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 fully perform as expected”

Would a divider even work?

Most experts are under the view that the problem of illegal drugs is not going to solve through this
action. A wall won't stop the drugs, drugs will find a way to its buyers but the illegal immigration
could be brought down to a certain extent. Israeli Prime Minister 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.
What are the economic implications?
According to the reports of Standard and Poor's, such a shutdown would be estimated to cost the
U.S $ 6.5 billion per week. Almost 1 million individuals would not get their standard checks in
case of a shutdown.