A government shutdown has brought significant disruptions to various sectors, including air travel and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). With the House poised to approve legislation that passed the Senate to resume funding as early as Wednesday, the immediate effects of the prolonged shutdown are beginning to take shape.
In terms of air travel, experts warn that it could take airlines days or weeks to rebuild their flight schedules and stabilize staffing issues caused by air traffic controller absences. This has raised concerns about Thanksgiving travel plans being affected. Moreover, the shutdown has resulted in more permanent employee losses as 15-20 air traffic controllers retired daily during the shutdown, compared to four on a typical day.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release its September jobs report shortly after the shutdown ends, as it was originally scheduled for release on October 3. However, some economic data might be delayed due to surveys not being conducted during the shutdown and other information yet to be processed by the entire agency that has been furloughed.
One area of concern is SNAP payments. The Trump administration had sought to withhold full payments for November, but it's unclear how quickly food stamps will be distributed once President Donald Trump signs the legislation to resume government funding. Some states have issued partial payments, while others have yet to distribute any funds.
The shutdown has also affected museums and national parks. While most national parks remained open during the shutdown, Smithsonian museums, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington Monument, and the National Zoo were closed. It took four days for these institutions to reopen after the end of the 2019 shutdown, which was the longest in history.
Legislation passed by the Senate ensures that federal workers will receive back pay once the government reopens, and agencies are required to issue retroactive paychecks "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."
Economists expect a broad strain on the economy to ease fairly quickly after the shutdown ends. However, White House advisers have warned that impacts are worse than initially expected due to the shutdown's prolonged duration, which has affected GDP growth estimates for the fourth quarter.
In the end, it remains to be seen how long October reports and other economic data will take to materialize once the shutdown ends.
In terms of air travel, experts warn that it could take airlines days or weeks to rebuild their flight schedules and stabilize staffing issues caused by air traffic controller absences. This has raised concerns about Thanksgiving travel plans being affected. Moreover, the shutdown has resulted in more permanent employee losses as 15-20 air traffic controllers retired daily during the shutdown, compared to four on a typical day.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release its September jobs report shortly after the shutdown ends, as it was originally scheduled for release on October 3. However, some economic data might be delayed due to surveys not being conducted during the shutdown and other information yet to be processed by the entire agency that has been furloughed.
One area of concern is SNAP payments. The Trump administration had sought to withhold full payments for November, but it's unclear how quickly food stamps will be distributed once President Donald Trump signs the legislation to resume government funding. Some states have issued partial payments, while others have yet to distribute any funds.
The shutdown has also affected museums and national parks. While most national parks remained open during the shutdown, Smithsonian museums, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington Monument, and the National Zoo were closed. It took four days for these institutions to reopen after the end of the 2019 shutdown, which was the longest in history.
Legislation passed by the Senate ensures that federal workers will receive back pay once the government reopens, and agencies are required to issue retroactive paychecks "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."
Economists expect a broad strain on the economy to ease fairly quickly after the shutdown ends. However, White House advisers have warned that impacts are worse than initially expected due to the shutdown's prolonged duration, which has affected GDP growth estimates for the fourth quarter.
In the end, it remains to be seen how long October reports and other economic data will take to materialize once the shutdown ends.
air travel is such a nightmare during gov shutdowns. just got my niece's flight canceled for thansgiving lol, been trying to find alternative flights for days... and I feel bad for all those air traffic controllers who lost their jobs 
it's just not fair.
I hope they get paid ASAP. museums and national parks are like, what's the point of even having them open if nobody's there to enjoy 'em 
just gotta hang in there until gov funding is back on track 
and have u seen those numbers 15-20 air traffic controllers retiring daily 
it's like a never-ending game of musical chairs but with people's lives
some states are doing partial payments which is better than nothing i guess? 
museums and national parks closed because of course they did it's like, wut even is the point of having a government if u cant keep them open 
and omg 15-20 air traffic controllers a day retiring during this time 
that's just wild. i'm also kinda concerned about those food stamps being delayed like how are ppl supposed to afford their fams on empty stomachs you feel me? 
SNAP payments are super important for fams in need, esp during Thanksgiving 
i hope they get their funds ASAP so ppl can enjoy the holidays without stress 
museums & national parks are like our treasures too, gotta keep 'em open & free for everyone to enjoy 
fingers crossed that everything gets back on track soon 
anyway, back to this government shutdown thing... 15-20 air traffic controllers retiring daily is insane 
and btw, has anyone else noticed that the forum's search bar is still super slow to load? it's like they're trying to make us suffer 
. It's like a game of musical chairs, where everyone gets left behind 
. And let's not forget about the air travel woes - it's like they're flying blind without all those air traffic controllers 
.
so like, what's up with all these government shutdowns? can someone explain it to me in simple terms? i feel like i'm always hearing about this stuff but never really understand what's going on... also, have you guys seen those videos of air traffic controllers just quitting and nothing being done about it? 
hopefully they get it sorted out soon so we can go back to normal life 
Just saw some crazy stats on air traffic controllers! 15-20 retired daily during this shutdown 
. And let's not forget about SNAP payments... I heard some states are doing partial distributions already 
The shutdown is causing a lot of anxiety for many people 
Economists initially predicted 3.2%, but it looks like the prolonged duration has really taken its toll 
...
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? And don't even get me started on SNAP payments - food stamps are like, "Hey, can we get our money back now? 
& dont worry about those museums n parks, they'll be all good once its over 
