Longest Shutdown in History Costs US Economy About $15 Billion Each Week
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-11-05/record-government-shutdown-costs-us-economy-about-15-billion-each-week?srnd=homepage-europe&embedded-checkout=true
Posted by Major_Signature_8651
5 Comments
Now in its [36th day](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-05/longest-shutdown-tests-air-travel-federal-workers-and-patience), the shutdown has surpassed the previous record set in early 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term. Every week that passes costs the economy anywhere from $10 billion to $30 billion, based on analysts’ estimates, with several landing in the $15 billion range.
In the past, the hit to economic growth has been temporary, with furloughed employees getting back pay and the federal government making up for the halted spending once reopened.
This one stands to inflict more damage, and not just because of its length, economists say. The economy is more fragile than seven years ago, with many Americans fretting about [inflation](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-24/us-consumer-sentiment-drops-to-five-month-low-on-price-concerns?srnd=undefined&sref=c4D50CQV) and [job prospects](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-03/the-low-hire-low-fire-us-economy-seems-to-be-over). And unlike during the 2018-2019 shutdown, the fallout extends beyond federal workers missing paychecks to millions of Americans [losing full access](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-01/shutdown-pain-spreads-at-one-month-touching-tens-of-millions?srnd=undefined&sref=c4D50CQV) to food assistance heading into the holiday season.
“The experience, historically, is that government shutdowns don’t cause calamity,” said Jonathan Millar, a senior US economist at Barclays. “This time could be different.”
The MAGA tag was perfect. I mean everything they say is the opposite of what they mean, but if I was a former leader of the KGB and I had an axe to grind with the United States, I would do everything that Trump is doing. I mean that economically but you can also look at how the NRA, a money laundering front for the Russians, has dealt with the issue of gun violence, or how Trump exacerbated COVID deaths. Putin’s use of Trump will go down as the biggest attack on the United States in our short history, but according to 40% of Americans who are so terrified of men wearing skirts and dishwashers with brown skin this attack that they’re literally incapable of rational thought, this is somehow making us great. Sheer genius.
So the government takes money out of the economy and puts it back in the economy and that’s the economy? That’s like saying perpetual motion is real
In the long run it will be a good thing, house Republicans have become to far right and as such fundamentally disconnected from mainstream voters. This has made Senate Republicans jobs all the harder because they dont get the luxury of gerrymandering. With Senate Democrats now putting their foot down it will force the House Republicans back closer to the political center.
Thats why the filibuster exists is to prevent extreme legislation, but it only works if both sides are willing to pull the trigger, a MAD strategy for sure but effective.
This is a terrible situation that will do more good than harm over the long run but you have to first pay the price to get the better outcome later. Its unfortunate that people have to suffer to sooth the egos of men but such is life.
Nobody cares. We are $38 trillion in debt. $15 billion is just a rounding error.
I am not saying that this is not a real economic problem. It is, but no one cares.