Bleeding Money: The GOP Shutdown Will Cost Between $40-$80 Million a Day

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MSN Money reported that the 1995-96 shutdown cost an estimated $74 million a day, “The OMB estimated that the 27-day 1995-96 shutdown cost a total of $1.4 billion, or about $2 billion in today’s dollars. Some of the lost revenue in fees and fines would eventually be recouped, according to MSNBC. Divide $2 billion by 27 and you get about $74 million a day.”

Estimates for the current shutdown vary from $40 to $80 million a day, but according to MSN Money, “share one similar prognostication: a government shutdown is bad for the economy.”

It gets worse. Annie Lowrey, an economic policy reporter for the New York Times, tweeted a staggering estimate of the damage the shutdown is doing to GDP, “David Stockton, formerly of the Fed, estimates a shutdown costs 0.15 percent of GDP growth a week.”

David Stockton, formerly of the Fed, estimates a shutdown costs 0.15 percent of GDP growth a week.

— Annie Lowrey (@AnnieLowrey) October 1, 2013

Stockton came to the same number as Morgan Stanley’s Vincent Reinhart and Ellen Zentner, who estimated the shutdown would have a direct impact on gross domestic product growth, reducing GDP growth by .15% per week. Fiscal conservatives you say? Not so much.

So, we pay when Republicans pretend to repeal ObamaCare (clearly a fail), we’d pay a lot more if they actually defunded it as it would increase the deficit, we are still paying for their 2011 debt ceiling debacle, and now we are paying for their latest temper tantrum – the GOP shutdown.

Not to get all Republican, but I’m thinking Democrats might take this opportunity to reject a short term CR at current levels. Real budget or bust.

I don’t say that to be punitive or because I’m taking this lightly. Unlike Sarah Palin, I don’t consider the functions of the government to be a big joke. Rather, the opposite.

Sometimes you have to dish out some tough love, and that time is far past. If the suicide caucus of Republicans don’t have to pay for their behavior, they’re going to keep acting like willful, petulant children. These people are not the Republicans of old. They can’t be trusted to get it. They are anarchists, sent to D.C. to serve corporations and some of them don’t even know that. These are not bright minds, capable of change and growth on their own. The only way they’re going to grow up is to be forced to face the consequences of their behavior.

The facts are you don’t always get what you want, and sometimes when you overplay your cards, you end up paying big time. I’d be very tempted to reject any short term “fixes” via a CR that will only leave the Democrats open to more hostage taking weeks down the road.

What if Republicans had to come to the table to frigging do their job for real.

What if they had to sit down for budget reconciliation and they were not allowed to use the debt ceiling or the economy as hostages. They will, if there’s even a glimmer of reality among the Tea newbies, eventually be more prone to negotiate with the shutdown hanging around their 2014 necks.

It’s time for Democrats to dish out some tough love to the hate crack addicted tea, because Speaker John Boehner obviously can’t do it and someone has to be the grown up. Boehner won’t even put a CR up for a vote that is set at Republicans’ budget levels. How’s that for stomping on your own ideas?

Sarah Jones

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