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“Don’t Crash the Economy: Beware the Risks of a Long Government Shutdown!

As the US has entered its third week of the government shutdown, concerns about the economy’s stability are rising. A short-term shutdown wouldn’t severely damage the economy, but prolonged funding gaps could create real issues. The economy continues to remain strong despite the shutdown, with economic experts believing a short-term shutdown wouldn’t be enough to break the trend and cause a crash. This is because the government shutdown’s primary effect is on government services and furloughed employees, and this doesn’t usually cause major economic damage. However, if the shutdown extends for a far longer time, activists, as well as some prominent governmental officials, worry this could mean a different story. For example, if the shutdown continues into weeks or even months, it could start to slowly erode consumer and business confidence. Companies truly begin to worry they won’t be able to succeed in the long-term, and consequently stop investing, which could lead to a major standstill in the economy. In this extreme case, a shutdown could begin to affect economic markets, with large losses in stock and other markets felt globally. A decrease in stock prices would, in turn, result in less money for investors and shareholders which could cause anger amongst many people and result in social havoc, making the situation far harder to fix. Though this economic downturn likely won’t be an immediate result, if the shutdown continues to last much longer, economic experts fear it could end up weakening the US economy’s strength and escalating perspectives of political uncertainty. Overall, each day that passes with no resolution to the shutdown increases fears of a possible recession, making a quick resolution from Congress of upmost importance in order to preserve the US economy.