Shutdown Shenanigans

I sat down to add to the growing pile of shutdown analyses (and diatribes) but then realized my former colleagues had already done it for me. Granted, Sarah Jane Staats and Connie Veillette wrote this blog back in 2011 on the eve of the last almost-shutdown but their concerns on what a shutdown means for development remain relevant.

Big picture:  the amount of agency staff time that goes into planning for a shutdown is necessarily ridiculous and sucks the air out of everything else.

Bigger picture:  what this means for US development policy longer term is unclear. Nothing good certainly, and the longer it goes on (and the more staff that are furloughed), the worse it gets.

Biggest picture:  The US economy and global markets are, and will continue to be, negatively affected—bad generally and for development. Of course, reaching the debt ceiling is a far more terrifying crisis than the shutdown (with apologies to furloughed friends, the Panda Cam, and Kim Elliott who just wants her USITC data!).

If you’ve suddenly found yourself with unpaid time on your hands and feel the need to review agency lapse plans:

• USAID Lapse Plan (summary: not so bad for now)
• MCC Shutdown Contingency Plan (summary: we’re good til at least Friday but then…)
• OPIC Lapse Plan (summary: we’re staying put but best of luck getting anything new done)
• State Lapse Plan (summary: we’re all essential! Sorry, IG.)
• Treasury Lapse Plan (summary: hope you weren’t planning to call anyone there anytime soon)
• OMB Memorandum on Planning for Agency Operations During a Potential Lapse in Appropriations

Other shutdown resources:

• The Fix’s clean CR whip count
• Washington Post:  Shutdown Impact Map
• Wonkblog’s Absolutely Everything You Need to Know About How the Government Shutdown Will Work
• Foreign Policy:  The Shutdown Won’t Break the US Foreign Policy Machine (Right Away)
• DCist’s round-up of shutdown specials

And for those of you looking for non-shutdown reading materials:

• A new report on how to get More Health for the Money.
• A proposal to strengthen OPIC. It’s budget neutral!
• And a plan where your taxpayer dollars don’t get spent unless the program actually works:  CODAid.
• Scared about investing in western markets? Should you try Africa?