Prompt Cast
The Impact and Causes of Government Shutdowns
TLDR Government shutdowns occur when parts of the federal government stop functioning due to funding gaps, causing significant negative impacts on federal employees, average Americans, and the national economy. These shutdowns are often caused by entrenched politics and disagreements over budget allocations, leading to a breakdown in negotiations and a loss of funding for essential programs and services.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The podcast episode is about government shutdowns and the hosts have been meaning to do an episode on this topic for years.
04:51
A government shutdown occurs when parts of the federal government stop functioning due to funding gaps, which are often caused by entrenched politics and result in blame being placed on Congress, and these shutdowns have significant negative impacts on federal employees, average Americans, and the national economy.
09:54
The appropriations process for the discretionary spending budget starts on the first Monday in February and involves Congress and the President, with the President's budget serving as a wish list that Congress can choose to follow or ignore.
14:45
Congress and the President negotiate and pass a concurrent budget resolution, which sets the spending for the year and divides it into 12 categories, with each category being allocated a specific amount of money by the appropriations subcommittees.
19:30
Congress and the President can either sign or veto each appropriations bill separately or as a whole, and if all 12 bills are not passed by October 1st, the beginning of the federal government's fiscal year, it does not mean that everything stops working.
24:45
A continuing resolution can be passed if negotiations are still ongoing and the government needs more time to reach an agreement on appropriations bills, but if continuing resolutions stop being issued, it indicates a breakdown in negotiations.
29:57
When negotiations on a contentious issue in the budget, such as Medicaid funding for abortions, reach an impasse and one side no longer agrees to a continuing resolution, a funding gap can occur, which may lead to a government shutdown.
34:48
Government shutdowns became more politically risky after the enforcement of the anti-deficiency act by Cibilletti, leading to fewer shutdowns occurring, with major shutdowns occurring in 1995-1996 and 2013, and the most recent one in 2018-2019 being caused by a disagreement over funding for a border wall.
40:16
The government shutdown in 2018-2019 lasted for 35 days, the longest in history, and was caused by a disagreement over funding for a border wall, resulting in a loss of at least $11 billion for America.
46:10
During a government shutdown, federal workers who are deemed non-essential don't receive back pay for the time they missed, resulting in financial hardships and negative effects on the economy.
51:34
Government shutdowns have a wide range of negative effects, including the depletion of funding for programs like food stamps and children's breakfast programs, the curtailment of FDA food inspections, the closure or understaffing of national parks, and the inconvenience and financial loss experienced by tourists who have planned and paid for trips to the United States.
56:26
No relevant information or content to summarize in this section.
Categories:
Society & Culture
