The economic impact of the federal government shutdown

Potential economic effects of a shutdown of the federal government range from higher interest rates to a potential recession to catastrophic long term effects on taxes and Social Security benefits. Virginia Tech economists David Bieri and Jadrian Wooten can provide overviews and details. “Pessimists are right to emphasize just how broken the politics of fiscal federalism are in Washington,” Bieri says. “This is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they devised a remarkable mechanism of securing funding for the young Republic. We owe it to them to think about fiscal reform."