WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The federal government shutdown has impacted so many people over the past 42 days from families that rely on SNAP benefits, military families, federal workers and even travelers due to flight cancellations and delays.
What kind of dollar amount does all of this have on our Central Texas economy?
“Federal workers have missed a paycheck and there’s a lot of federal workers in this area and some of them will of course have to cut back on spending and doing things like that. They typically make up for it later but you do have that sorta temporary situation that puts them in a bind" said Dr. Ray Perryman.
Perryman is the President and CEO of the economic research and analysis firm, The Perryman Group, located in Waco.
“For a shutdown like this for the whole country you probably are measuring usually about $10-20 Billion dollars in damages in a multi-trillion dollar economy so it’s not usually a huge impact over all but it does impact a lot of individuals who have need to interact with the government or do some sort of service or something from them,” Perryman said.
“That will translate into millions of dollars in Central Texas. In percentage terms it won’t be a huge impact," Perryman explained.
How soon could the economy recovery once the government reopens?
“We’re dealing with a government that right now has not been efficient, as efficient as it has been, so there may be some glitches" — but as a whole he added — "it should work itself out over the next few months" said Perryman.
However, there is a key factor to keep in mind, healthcare, which was the breaking point between republican and democratic lawmakers that started the government shutdown.
Perryman explains, a determination on what our economy could look like in the future is determined on how lawmakers will vote on the healthcare funding bill.
Keep in mind, that decision could cut healthcare coverage for many Americans thus causing them to find alternative options for healthcare further impacting their wallets and their spending habits.
