I recently read a letter from David Cunningham (Dec. 16) who stated that the federal government shutdown of 2013 cost Americaís economy $24 billion. The writer stated that the GOP never apologized to the American people for the $24 billion loss. It reminded me of that old quote, ďBelieve half of what you see and none of what you hear.Ē
The Standard and Poorís (S&P) analysis that came up with the $24 billion figure received a lot of media attention, and many of us, especially the GOP bashers, were quick to accept it as gospel. But if you do your own analysis, the numbers just donít add up.
S&P calculated the $24 billion impact on all the wages federal workers didnít get, and thus didnít spend and the loss of commerce as a result. However, as we all know by now, federal workers were all paid for the time they missed and S&P didnít take into account that those workers most likely increased their spending once they received their back pay.
Some tourist businesses in the D.C. and National Park areas may have lost customers during the shutdown, but there were other businesses in other areas that probably gained income due to the shutdown. So there is no net decrease in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), itís just redistribution.
So, the $24 billion figure is bogus. If it were true, it would be scary, but not nearly as scary as $16,943,550,773,240, which was the national debt total when the shutdown ended. Instead of having the GOP apologize, Cunningham should start apologizing to his children and grandchildren.
Richard Jones, Wellington