Thursday, May 26, 2022
The Green Market Oracle
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
The Green Market Oracle
No Result
View All Result
Home Other

Republicans Shut Down Government Again Impacting the Economy and the Environment

by Richard Matthews
October 1, 2013
in Other
0

As of midnight last night the fiscal year expired and the US government began shutting down. House Republicans are being intransigent and their attempt to tie the budget to Obamacare amounts to extortion. Led by the Tea Party extremists, the GOP has been steadfast in their refusal to pass the 2014 federal budget by the end of the fiscal year. Republicans are trying to derail the implementation of health care reform, even though US lawmakers voted for it in 2010 and the American people expressed their support when given the choice in 2012.

As explained by President Obama:

“One faction in one branch of government doesn’t get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election.”

As a consequence of the GOP’s malfeasance, on the morning of October 1, 2013, 800,000 workers, or about 40 percent of the government’s civilian work force, were furloughed and another one million federal employees have been asked to work without pay.
This will last until Republicans agree to pass a budget,

As President Obama tweeted, “They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the House just forced a government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real budget.”

Republicans have systematically undermined the American economy. The government shutdown will likely create a lot of volatility in financial markets as it did in 2011. The GOP’s latest bid to stymie government comes during a week in which investors are already skittish about the meeting of the Federal Reserve. 

As reported by MSN, the last time Republicans played chicken with the American economy the impact was significant. Between the market peak in July 2011 and Oct. 3, 2011, the Dow tumbled 16.3%, the S&P 500 ($INX -0.60%) dropped 18.2% and the Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX -0.27%) fell 18.7%. The largest sell off took place between August 2 and August 18. Standard & Poor’s downgrade of US debt came after the market close on Aug. 5 and in the next two weeks the Dow fell 400 and 500 points a day. On August 18, the Dow plummeted 618 points.

This was not the first time Republicans have used their budgetary control for nefarious purposes. The GOP has a long history of obstructionism over the budget. In 1995, Congressional Republicans wielded their power against the Clinton administration and managed to shut down government for 21 days.

This is not merely political grandstanding on the part of Republicans, their irresponsible conduct will have severe consequences. In addition to impacting government agencies specializing in science, technology and health the government shutdown will directly impact the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

There are about 16,200 people that work for the EPA almost all of which will be furloughed. As explained by EPA head Gina McCarthy a few days ago, a furlough means that her agency “effectively shuts down.”

Almost half of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ 78,686 staff employees are being told to stay home during the shutdown this includes employees from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

This is but the first salvo in the GOP’s latest war on government. House Republicans can be expected to continue to resist efforts to fund government especially when it comes to the forthcoming battle over the debt ceiling.

One of the most egregious impacts of the EPA shutdown is that it will delay the organization’s efforts to reign-in carbon pollution from power plants.

Republicans are making it clear that they intend to use their control over the nation’s purse strings to serve partisan politics. However a Washington Post ABC News poll shows that only one in four Americans approve of the GOP’s tactics. Those who are holding Americans hostage don’t seem to remember how the Democrats gained seats in the 1998 midterms after the Republican’s shutdown government.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Articles
Government Shutdown Adversely Impacts the Environment, Energy and Climate Research

Government Shutdown Threatens America’s Natural Resources

The Environmental and Economic Implications of a Government Shutdown
Republican Assault on the Environment
Republican Obstructionism on the Debt Ceiling Risks Global Environmental Collapse
Environmental Implications of the Credit Ceiling Agreement
The US Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Green Economy
The Credit Downgrade and the Green Economy
Republican’s Fail in their Bid to Defund the EPA

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

CDP Global 500 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index 2013

Next Post

The Science in the 2013 IPCC Report: Unequivocal Evidence of Anthropogenic Climate Change

Related Posts

Seasons Greetings from the Green Market Oracle

by Richard Matthews
December 24, 2021
0

American Courts are Defending Democracy and the Environment

by Richard Matthews
December 14, 2020
0

Despite unprecedented challenges, America's legal system has held. In recent weeks the courts have repeatedly defended democracy and in the last four years they have overturned a wide range of environmental...

Environmental Plebiscites: Municipal Referendums and State Ballot Initiatives

by Richard Matthews
November 12, 2020
0

The November 3rd election not only elected an environmentally responsible president it also gave Americans a chance to vote on environmental issues in five state ballots and two city referendums. Americans ...

Next Post

The Science in the 2013 IPCC Report: Unequivocal Evidence of Anthropogenic Climate Change

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Economics

Defining Sustainable Economic Systems – Development vs Growth

by Richard Matthews
April 20, 2022
0

Prevailing economic systems are not working and it is becoming increasingly clear that we require a paradigm shift to address...

Read more
List of private equity firms and investment funds that focus on on sustainable development goals: Climate action, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, quality education, innovation and infrastructure, life below water, and life on land.

List of the Top Sustainability Focused Private Equity Firms

March 21, 2022
russia's invasion of ukraine from the perspective of climate and energy

Russia’s War From a Climate Perspective

March 14, 2022
Private Equity Firms Are Paving the Way to a More Sustainable Future

Private Equity Firms Are Paving the Way to a More Sustainable Future 

February 21, 2022
sustainably invested cash money

Top 12 Green Private Equity Firms

February 7, 2022
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In