Shutdown Strife Is Just the First Domino

Shutdown Strife Is Just the First Domino

This is not about politics. It’s about the playbook.

On October 1, a TSA agent walked into Dulles Airport for another shift. He showed up like always. Except this time, his paycheck didn’t.

Congress failed to pass a budget. The government shut down. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were left without income. Many still had to report for work. No pay. No timeline. No answers.

To most, it looks like a national crisis.

To a few, it looks like a repeat of a profitable pattern.

Every shutdown ends the same way. Not with spending cuts. With more spending.

And in this economy, that means one thing: more liquidity

The Real Cost of the Shutdown

Right now, 750,000 federal workers are furloughed. Essential employees like air traffic controllers and FBI agents are working without pay.

National parks are closed. Government services have stalled. Even the monthly jobs report has been frozen.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, this shutdown is costing the economy about $400 million in wages every day.

The labor market was already showing signs of weakness. Only 22,000 jobs were created in August. That’s the lowest number in years. Unemployment ticked up to 4.3 percent. Consumer confidence is slipping.

Add in a prolonged shutdown, and that weakness turns into something worse. But here’s what matters:

When the pain becomes political, Congress opens the floodgates.

And that’s when the real opportunity begins.

Every Shutdown Ends the Same Way