How a shutdown can damage the economy

Edition: US - Today's top story: Will a federal government shutdown damage the US economy? [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 20 January 2018 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note The U.S. government is officially closed for business. Senate Republicans failed to gain enough support to pass a last-minute deal to keep the government open for another month. While federal employees deemed essential, such as soldiers, airport screeners and food safety inspectors will continue to do their jobs – albeit unpaid – hundreds of thousands will be sent home. So what kind of impact will a sudden absence of several million paychecks have on the U.S. economy? Finance professor Scott Baker studied the impact of the last shutdown, in 2013, and [found some surprising results](. Meanwhile, the political blame game begins. Political scientist Jennifer Victor argues that [fingers should be pointing in a familiar direction](. And for those troubled by the distractions of the world we live in, UC Berkeley’s David Marno offers words of comfort when he explains how early Christian monks had a “[remarkably patient attitude](” towards distraction. In fact, he urges us to consider: Are attention and distraction in reality the same behavior? Bryan Keogh Economics + Business Editor Top stories The Lincoln Monument was a casualty of the last shutdown, in 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster [Will a federal government shutdown damage the US economy?]( Scott R. Baker, Northwestern University The 2013 shutdown offers some clues as to what the impact will be now after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree to a short-term spending deal. Trump on Jan. 19, 2018. AP Photo/Evan Vucci [Shutdown under a unified government? Blame Trump]( Jennifer Victor, George Mason University What’s unique about this shutdown? It happened under a unified government – and that’s bad news for the GOP. Should we be more patient with those we view as distracted? Serhii Bobyk/Shutterstock.com [Tolerating distraction]( David Marno, University of California, Berkeley We disapprove of distraction and consider attention as being valuable. What if they were, in fact, morally charged words, referring to the same behavior? Here's what early Christian monks thought. Politics + Society [Has Venezuela become a totalitarian regime?]( Miguel Angel Latouche, Universidad Central de Venezuela Venezuela's terrible crisis has gotten worse, as children die of hunger and food riots grip the country. Still, President Maduro retains his grip on power. This is not what democracy looks like. [20 years since America's shock over Clinton-Lewinsky affair, public discussions on sexual harassment are changing]( Juliet Williams, University of California, Los Angeles While sexual harassment is still all too common, at least we’re having more open conversations about it, and victims are speaking up on their own terms. Environment + Energy [Deadly California mudslides show the need for maps and zoning that better reflect landslide risk]( David R. Montgomery, University of Washington In response to mudslides that have killed at least 20 people in Southern California, a geologist calls for more resources to study and map landslide hazards so residents can understand the risks. [What the 2018 farm bill means for urban, suburban and rural America]( Tom Vilsack, Colorado State University Congress is drafting the 2018 farm bill, which will guide agriculture, nutrition, trade and rural development policy. A former agriculture secretary explains how this bill reaches far beyond farms. Science + Technology [50 years ago, a US military jet crashed in Greenland – with 4 nuclear bombs on board]( Timothy J. Jorgensen, Georgetown University In what came to be known as the Thule incident, an American bomber crashed in Greenland, spreading radioactive wreckage across 3 square miles of a frozen fjord. Denmark was not happy. [New ways scientists can help put science back into popular culture]( Clifford Johnson, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences You might not think much about science topics as part of your everyday life. But science – like art, music, religion – is part of our culture, and scientists can help it reclaim its rightful place. [Reaching rural America with broadband internet service]( Sharon Strover, University of Texas at Austin Many people in rural America don't have access to fast, affordable internet access. How might those communities connect to the global exchange of goods, services and ideas? [Fungi can help concrete heal its own cracks]( Congrui Jin, Binghamton University, State University of New York Adding a bit of fungus to the initial ingredient list might be one way to endow concrete with the ability to fill in any bits of damage that occur, without the need for human intervention. Education [If you thought colleges making the SAT optional would level the playing field, think again]( Kelly Ochs Rosinger, Pennsylvania State University Although proponents of making the SAT optional hoped it would expand college access for low-income and minority students, research shows that hasn't happened. [What we can learn from closure of charter school that DeVos praised as 'shining example']( Claire Smrekar, Vanderbilt University Education Secretary Betsy DeVos once called Excel Academy Public Charter School a 'shining example.' A Vanderbilt scholar explains why that description was woefully off target. Arts + Culture [What makes some art so bad that it's good?]( John Dyck, CUNY Graduate Center Sometimes a work of art is characterized by a string of failures, but nonetheless ends up being a gorgeous freak accident of nature. [Willie O'Ree's little-known journey to break the NHL's color barrier]( Thomas J. Whalen, Boston University A debilitating eye injury and racial epithets weren't enough to derail O'Ree's resolve. Health + Medicine [Re-criminalizing cannabis is worse than 1930s 'reefer madness']( Miriam Boeri, Bentley University Research from the last few decades suggest marijuana helps more than it harms. But Jeff Sessions' proposed crackdown would take us back nearly a century. [This year's severe flu exposes a serious flaw in our medical system]( Morten Wendelbo, Texas A&M University ; Christine Crudo Blackburn, Texas A&M University Thanks to Hurricane Maria, some US hospitals are experiencing a saline shortage. In times of emergency, medical supply chains break down too easily. Economy + Business ['Dreamers' could give US economy – and even American workers – a boost]( Amy Hsin, City University of New York While comprehensive immigration reform may be out of reach, giving immigrants who came to the US as children citizenship not only has broad political support but makes economic sense too. [Shades of green: What gig economy workers can learn from the success of romance writers]( Chris Larson, University of Colorado Few of them are getting rich off their books but the genre is making them more money than it used to. Ethics + Religion [What a medieval love saga says about modern-day sexual harassment]( Lisa Bitel, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences An affair between a philosophy professor and his teenage student became the subject of ballads in the streets of Paris in the 12th century. A scholar asks: Why wasn't it called sexual harassment? 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