Just two Saturdays ago a government shutdown occurred. The shutdown began on Saturday the 20th and was over by Monday the 22nd. The shutdown began after congress was unable to pass legislation to fund the government operations and agencies.  There was also disputes over whether those covered under DACA  (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) should face deportation and if funding should be allocated toward the building of a border wall between Mexico and the US. Currently the government is back up and running, although a second government shutdown could still happen. 

The last time there was a long government shutdown, it was in 2013. That shutdown lasted much longer than the 2018 government shutdown. The 2013 shutdown began October 1st and ended October 16th. There have been 19 government shutdowns. President Jimmy Carter had five government shutdowns in just his four-year term. President Ronald Reagan had a shutdown nearly every year during his eight years in office. From the year 1976 to the year 1987 there was a government shutdown nearly every year excluding 1980 and 1985. Many years had more than one shut down. Most of these shutdowns were short during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. His shutdowns normally lasted 1 to 3 days. While shutdowns during Jimmy Carter’s presidency lasted at anywhere from 8 to 17 days, the most recent government shutdown was only 2 days long making it one of the shortest. The 2013 shutdown was one of the Longest lasting 16 days.  

A government shutdown usually occurs when Congress is unable to pass Appropriations or the president fails to sign the Appropriations. Appropriations bills are bills that appropriate money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs. Regular Appropriations bills are passed annually with the funding they provide covering one fiscal year. A fiscal year is the accounting period of the federal government which runs from October 1st to September 30th of the following year. when Congress is unable to pass Appropriations or the president doesn’t sign the Appropriations it usually leads to a government shutdown.  

The 2018 government shutdown ended due to passing a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution basically means Government funding will continue as it is until Congress passes an appropriations bill.  but this may not stop a second government shutdown. Government shutdowns are very bad for everyone involved. the government becomes inefficient and still needs to pay all of its employees, president Trump seems not to undo does not seem to understand that. We have been in continuing resolution since October 2017 and we may not be out of it until the end of Donald Trump’s presidency. Government shutdowns cost about 6 billion dollars a week according to Aljazeera.  during the 2013 government shutdown the US economy took a 24 billion dollar hit according to Standard & Poor’s analysis.  so, government shutdowns are not only inefficient but also very costly. do us simply cannot afford another government shutdown.