Shutdown Cost Economy $11 Billion, but Long-term Effects Likely Minimal

The five-week government shutdown that ended in January 2019 shaved as much as $11 billion off the real gross domestic product, according to a report released Monday by the Congressional Budget Office.

Much of that lost activity will come back when federal workers are repaid and those numbers, while large, will not create a major impact on the nation’s or the Arizona state’s economy, according to the report and to local economists.

Arizona chambers of commerce said they had not heard of any particular hardships on businesses as a result of the shutdown, but other officials said the effect on individuals should not be minimized.

“Thousands of Arizona families and hundreds of thousands more across the country went more than a month without being paid,” said Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Sedona, in response to the CBO report. “They are tired of being pawns in this political game.”

Read the full article at Cronkite News.

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