Here’s The Economic Cost Of Shutting Down The Government

Breakdown: Here's The Economic Cost Of Shutting Down The Government

ThinkProgressToday,

If Congress doesn't reach a deal by midnight tonight, the government shuts down.

A shutdown isn't just bad politically, it can also be damaging to the United States' economy, taking the paychecks of federal employees out of the mix, and disrupting tourism across the country.

Here's a look at some of the latest numbers on how a shutdown might affect our economy:

A shutdown that lasted between three and four week could cost the economy about $55 billion, by the estimate of Moody's Analytics economist Brian Kessler.
Washington, DC, would lose $200 million a day on lost wages and lost spending by those who get furloughed. That estimate doesn't include tourism, and the huge losses DC will feel from the museums and national mall being closed.
The shutdown would "reduce federal spending" by about $8 billion, which could reduce GDP growth by .8 percent annualized, according to a report released Monday by Goldman Sachs.
Moody's Analytics' Mark Zandi pegs the amount lost in economic growth in the fourth quarter at as much as 1.4 percent.
One billion dollars a week from the pay of the roughly 800,000 federal employees will be lost from the U.S. economy.
These numbers, of course, don't count a lot of things: The loans that the Small Business Administration will stop making, the permits that the Environmental Protection Agency won't issue, the contracts that will be put on hold, and the nutrition assistance for infants and mothers that won't go out. Or, of course, a tanking stock market that could ruin consumer confidence.

As ThinkProgress's Alan Pyke previously noted, "Most of the costs of a shutdown are hard to tabulate because they involve damage to consumer, investor, and business confidence coming out of a shutdown, and lost time spent preparing for the worst in the weeks before a shutdown." But Republicans are already feeling the political costs of forcing a shutdown: Their business allies, who recognize the potential damage a shutdown could do, have broken ranks and urged Republicans to call off the shutdown.

The post Breakdown: Here's The Economic Cost Of Shutting Down The Government appeared first on ThinkProgress.

    

Show commentsOpen link

Benefits of different types of Indian rice

Benefits of different types of Indian rice

by vijigermany
New
Benefits of different types of Indian rice

Rice is a staple food in most Indian homes. However, there are different varieties of Rice available in our country, Basmati Rice, Brown rice and White rice. Let us understand the health benefits of these three varieties.

WHITE RICE:

The milling and polishing processes of white rice removes most of the important vitamins and other nutrients from it.

So WHO suggests and recommends that white rice be fortified with important vitamins and mineral premixes, as polished rice is nothing more than refined starch.

Further research is required to build the evidence-base on the use of fortified rice and to develop global technical guidelines for rice fortification. Health benefits include:

Gastrointestinal: White rice is one of the easiest and quickest foods to digest and requires only an hour to completely digest. Since white rice is low in fibre, it is very soothing to the digestive system and easily digested. So, it is great for relieving digestive disorders like diarrhoea, dysentery, colitis and even morning sickness. It is the best food for infants, young children and old people.
Overall energy: the body needs carbohydrates to function and white rice is an excellent source of energy.
Protein: Every 150g of rice has about 5 grams of protein.

Rice powder is also used externally as a soothing powder in cases of skin inflammation such as small-pox, measles, prickly heat, burns and scalds.

Show commentsOpen link