(San Francisco) The consequences of budgetary paralysis in the United States will be increasingly harmful, warned Republican leaders, followed by President Trump who announced in the evening the implementation of first layoffs.
The threat of massive layoffs in the federal services has been brandished by the American president from the start, Wednesday, of this budgetary blocking, the republican majority of which and the democratic opposition are referring.
This “Shutdown”, which will enter its second week on Monday, still shows no sign of appeasement and Donald Trump again blamed Democrats on Sunday.
Definitive layoffs, and no longer just technical unemployment, “it’s underway at the moment,” said Donald Trump in the White House journalists.
“All this is the fault of the Democrats. Democrats cause the loss of many jobs, “added the American president, before suddenly changing the subject to inaugurate a new gallery of presidential portraits with golden frames.
No discussion took place between the main leaders of the congress since their unsuccessful meeting last Monday at the White House, according to a senior Democratic official. His camp refuses to give in on the crucial issue of health insurance subsidies.
“If the president considers that the negotiations do not take absolutely anywhere, then the layoffs will begin,” Kevin Hassett, the main economic adviser of Donald Trump, interviewed on CNN on Sunday.
“We keep the hope that with a new start at the start of the week, we can convince the Democrats that common sense is to avoid such layoffs,” he added.
For his part, the chief of the Republican majority in the Senate, John Thune, acknowledged that the two camps were still “deadlocked” and hinted that more American workers were going to pay the price.
Photo Mariam Zuhaib, Associated Press Archives
The chief of the republican majority in the Senate, John Thune
“It will become embarrassing,” he implied on Fox News, while confirming that behind-the-scenes discussions continued on a possible extension of “Obamacare” subsidies, the health insurance program for popular classes.
How long can blocking, unprecedented for seven years, extend? “As long as Democrats will want,” said John Thune.
Unemployment
In March, when a threat of “Shutdown” already hovered, the Democrats had sold the former, a minority of them agreeing to vote a republican resolution now these subsidies for only six months.
“If the Republicans continue to refuse to extend the tax aid” of the Obamacare, “tens of millions of taxpayers will undergo a spectacular increase” of health costs, said on NBC Hakeem Jeffries, head of the Democrat minority in the House of Representatives.
Hundreds of thousands of “non-ending” officials have been unemployed since Wednesday and have not received a salary. Unless they are dismissed, they should see their situation regularized at the end of this “Shutdown”.
These periods of federal blocking are very unpopular among the Americans. 80 % of those questioned said they were very or rather concerned about the impact on the economy, according to a Yougov poll conducted on a representative panel of around 2,400 citizens.
The previous episode, caused in December 2018 in Donald Trump’s first term, lasted 35 days and cost about $ 11 billion in the US economy, according to a non-partisan Congress report.
