In Trump’s efforts to build a wall, the US economy is crumbling down

Source: socialnewsdaily.com

I think by now we all know that President Donald Trump wants a wall. And he is prepared to throw all his toys out of his pram to achieve this. Who is stopping him? The Congressional Democrats. And the result of such a refusal? The longest government shutdown that the United States has seen in all of its history, a political deadlock that has led to the severely negative impact upon the US economy and thousands of its citizens across the nation.

The shutdown began on the 22^nd December 2018 and now enters its 33rd day. It has resulted in over 800,000 federal employees forced to either take leave from their employment or simply work without pay. It is estimated that soon, the shutdown will have cost America over $5.7 billion – ironically, the amount Trump had previously demanded to cover the costs for his border wall.

According to the Moody’s Analytics Company, should the shutdown follow through to the end of January, the total loss suffered by the economy could reach up to $8.7 billion. Though such a loss is unlikely to upset the US economy, it will come dangerously close, a situation that will only become more desperate if the current shutdown continues into February. This is due to the implications of the United States’ current political attitude and the trust that citizens now place in their state, which is slowly leading to a depletion in both business and consumer confidence nationally.

Source: usatoday.com

Though federal workers are promised a back pay once the government reopens, this is not the case for employees working in private sector jobs whom depend on the federal government, which is an estimated 4 million, as stated by Capital Economics. Working without pay or a forced leave of absence is essentially a devastation to the majority of family and individual incomes, and, with no promise of compensation, the issue will only become graver as the deadlock continues and soon distresses the affected workers’ spending and consumption, creating a domino effect upon the country’s economy.

For example, citizens affected are beginning to cancel holidays and trips to American attractions and parks, in fears that their new budgets will not allow it. This, in turn, results in such private businesses also suffering and being forced to close down for the time being. Essentially the government’s halt has created a nation-wide halt.

Moody’s Analytics Company have warned that this is not a problem to be shouldered only by the US, however. Along with cancellation within the state, citizens will be cancelling bookings made abroad and it has been warned that companies overseas should expect a fall in American consumerism as a result.

Currently, there is no evidence that President Trump and the Congress will strike deal between themselves regarding the southern border to put an end to this shutdown. Businesses are already in doubts due to issues such as a global growth slow down and the US-China trade war. Should the government shutdown continue, there will be increasingly wide affects upon what Americans choose to spend their money on. Delays will be experienced everywhere, from IPOs choosing to go public to loans being processed, all of which rely on the engine of the American economy – consumerism.

It really does seem that the President is waiting around to see whether it is his precious wall, or his country’s financial security, that will ‘trump’ his priorities and ruling.

Thank you for reading!

Aman