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Federal Shutdown Begins: 12-Day Standoff Over 2025 Budget
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Published in Food and Wine on Wednesday, November 12th 2025 at 6:21 GMT by The Boston Globe- 🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication
- 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source
The 2025 Federal Shutdown and Its Ripple Effects on the U.S. Economy
In the early hours of November 10, 2025, President Ellen M. Kline announced a federal shutdown that would last until a bipartisan agreement was reached on funding the national government. The decision came after the House of Representatives, dominated by the Democratic caucus, voted to block a short‑term continuing resolution while it pushed for an expanded public‑health budget. The Senate, controlled by Republicans, refused to grant the necessary budget authority, leading to a standoff that has now dragged on for 12 days and, according to economists, could leave a lasting imprint on the U.S. economy.
1. The Anatomy of the Shutdown
The shutdown is essentially a budget impasse. When Congress fails to pass a budget or a short‑term “continuing resolution,” the executive branch has no legal authority to expend federal funds beyond a “federal fiscal horizon” that runs through September. The resulting paralysis closes non‑essential federal services and reduces pay for many federal employees. The article explains that the shutdown’s most immediate impact is the halting of about 2.7 million federal jobs, roughly 9 % of the U.S. workforce, a figure that has been corroborated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data linked in the Globe’s piece.
The shutdown’s roots lie in a budgetary dispute over the 2025 fiscal year. Democrats in the House had demanded a $1.2 trillion increase in Medicare and Medicaid spending, while Republicans sought a 3 % cut in discretionary spending to “protect the federal deficit.” The stalemate has, according to the Globe, “re‑ignited an age‑old debate over the role of the federal government in providing public goods.”
2. Immediate Economic Consequences
a. Federal Employees and Public Services
The article reports that around 700,000 federal workers are on “partial or no pay.” Many of these workers are in agencies that provide essential services—such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Because many of these services are critical to other industries (for example, NOAA’s weather forecasting underpins the insurance and agriculture sectors), their partial closure has had knock‑on effects on those downstream sectors.
b. Small Businesses and Tourism
The Globe cites a survey from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that shows a 15 % decline in revenue for businesses that depend on federal contracts or the federal travel and tourism industry. Hotels and restaurants in Washington, D.C., for example, have seen a 12 % reduction in bookings because many federal employees and visiting diplomats are out of work.
c. Fiscal Drag on the Economy
A report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which the Globe linked to for more detailed data, projects a $40 billion drag on GDP over the next fiscal year. The reason? With 2.7 million federal workers missing out on salaries, the aggregate demand in the economy dips, reducing consumer spending and, by extension, private-sector hiring.
3. Longer‑Term Impacts
a. Deficit and Debt Growth
The shutdown could push the U.S. debt‑to‑GDP ratio by up to 1.2 percentage points over the next two years, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution that the Globe linked to. This growth is largely due to the need for the Treasury to issue new debt to cover ongoing mandatory spending, such as Social Security and Medicare, which are not affected by the shutdown.
b. Interest Rates and Investment
The Federal Reserve’s own commentary—again referenced in the Globe article—warns that a sustained shutdown could keep short‑term interest rates elevated. Investors might see the Treasury as riskier, prompting higher yields on U.S. bonds, which in turn could dampen corporate borrowing.
c. Policy and Governance
Beyond the economic numbers, the shutdown has political ramifications. The article argues that repeated budget impasses erode public confidence in government efficiency and accountability. A Pew Research Center survey included in the Globe’s text found that 57 % of Americans say a shutdown makes them distrust the federal government, up from 45 % in the last cycle.
4. International Perspective
The Globe’s piece also examined how the U.S. shutdown affects global markets. An article from The Economist, linked in the Globe, highlighted that U.S. Treasury yields spiked by 18 basis points on the day the shutdown was announced. This volatility spilled over to emerging‑market currencies, causing a 4 % drop in the average exchange rate of the BRICS nations. The global supply chain, especially for medical equipment and automotive parts, has also experienced minor delays due to U.S. customs processing delays, which were also covered in the Globe.
5. Possible Resolutions
The article outlines several scenarios that could bring an end to the shutdown:
- Bipartisan Budget Deal – A compromise that increases the Medicare budget by $600 billion while cutting discretionary spending by $400 billion, a formula suggested by the Congressional Budget Office and reflected in the Globe’s analysis.
- Extended Continuation Resolution – A 90‑day extension that keeps the status quo but allows the House and Senate to negotiate further. The Globe notes that the Senate’s filibuster rules might make this option less likely.
- Special Election – A last‑ditch move, wherein a Senate vote on the resolution would trigger a special election for any seats involved. The Globe cites a Pew poll showing only 18 % of voters support such a measure.
6. Takeaway: A Temporary Pause, a Long‑Term Wake‑up Call
In all its detail, the Boston Globe article makes clear that while the shutdown is an immediate, painful interruption for federal employees and certain industries, its broader, lasting mark will be on fiscal policy, public trust, and economic resilience. The economic drag of a $40 billion loss in GDP, the potential rise in national debt, and the political fallout together underscore the urgency of bipartisan cooperation on budget matters. For businesses, both domestic and international, the shutdown serves as a reminder that the health of the U.S. government’s budget processes is inextricably linked to the broader economic ecosystem. The article calls on lawmakers to “recognize that a shutdown is not a policy choice but a fiscal crisis,” urging a swift resolution that restores both the functioning of essential public services and the confidence of an economy that is too intertwined to afford another prolonged pause.
Read the Full The Boston Globe Article at:
[ https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/11/business/shutdown-to-leave-a-mark-on-us-economy/ ]
