U.S. government shuts down again because House Democrats refuse to spend $5 billion on the border wall.

Amy Hamilton

2019-01-19 12:38:00 Sat ET

U.S. government shuts down again because House Democrats refuse to spend $5 billion on the border wall that would give President Trump great victory on his best-known policy. No other OECD democracy has such abrupt government shutdowns. Should the current U.S. government shutdown be about policy differences, House Democrats would try to achieve a compromise deal with the Trump administration.

Nevertheless, this congressional standoff is about presidential authority. President Trump must win this fight; otherwise, he would allow House Democrats to constrain his presidential power. A key concern is that President Trump may use his national emergency power to build the southern border wall. In this worse-case scenario, the eventual degradation of good government may continue.

In reality, the current U.S. government shutdown happens not because America is in turmoil: the country is not at war; the economy operates near full employment; and even Fed Chair Jerome Powell praises the robust economic outlook with low inflation and high productivity growth. The current government shutdown happens because President Trump needs to fulfill one of the most controversial campaign promises that his fervent followers favor. When the U.S. government reopens, both Congress and the Trump administration can revisit the comprehensive issues of border security and immigration reform without having to inflict financial pain on public employees in the specific form of furlough or work without pay.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

President Xi seeks Chinese congressional approval for abolishing his term limits of strongman rule with better trade deals and economic ties.

Jacob Miramar

2018-03-03 11:37:00 Saturday ET

President Xi seeks Chinese congressional approval for abolishing his term limits of strongman rule with better trade deals and economic ties.

President Xi seeks Chinese congressional approval and constitutional amendment for abolishing his term limits of strongman rule with more favorable trade de

+See More

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon views wealth inequality as a major economic problem in America.

Monica McNeil

2019-12-19 14:43:00 Thursday ET

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon views wealth inequality as a major economic problem in America.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon views wealth inequality as a major economic problem in America. Dimon now warns that the rich Americans have been getting wea

+See More

President Donald Trump unveils the dramatic *tax overhaul proposal*.

Daisy Harvey

2017-04-13 10:42:00 Thursday ET

President Donald Trump unveils the dramatic *tax overhaul proposal*.

President Donald Trump unveils the dramatic *tax overhaul proposal*. Through this tax plan, Trump replaces the current 7 income tax brackets with 3 leane

+See More

Tax policy pluralism for addressing special interests

Monica McNeil

2023-12-08 08:28:00 Friday ET

Tax policy pluralism for addressing special interests

Tax policy pluralism for addressing special interests Economists often praise as pluralism the interplay of special interest groups in public policy. In

+See More

Corporate investment insights from mergers and acquisitions

Joseph Corr

2022-10-25 11:31:00 Tuesday ET

Corporate investment insights from mergers and acquisitions

Corporate investment insights from mergers and acquisitions Relative market misvaluation between the bidder and target firms drives most waves of mergers

+See More

President Donald Trump delivers his first state-of-the-union address.

Daphne Basel

2018-01-29 07:38:00 Monday ET

President Donald Trump delivers his first state-of-the-union address.

President Donald Trump delivers his first state-of-the-union address. Several key highlights touch on economic issues from fiscal stimulus and trade protect

+See More