History (and Potential Economic Impact) of Government Shutdowns

I'm just featuring a few good articles and infographics on the history of government shutdowns, plus a little perspective on the economic impact of previous examples. I particularly liked the PBS poll on the top left as an indicator of why the Senate can't "decide" anything with a 60% vote requirement - because WE (the public) can't! Really trying to stay out of the politics of this one - I think time (and perhaps the 2026 electorate) will ultimately decide "winners", "losers", and a better idea of whether any of this was worth it or not . . .

The Original Article That Prompted This Post

"What Shutdown History Teaches Us", Econlife, Nov 2025, https://econlife.com/2025/11/shutdown-history/

Resources/Graphics used above . . .

"How the Federal Workforce is Impacted During a Government Shutdown (2025 Update)", Partnership for Public Service, Oct 2025, https://ourpublicservice.org/fed-figures/how-the-federal-workforce-is-impacted-during-a-government-shutdown-2025/

"The 2025 Government Shutdown: What Investors Should Know", Heritage Financial, Oct 2025, https://heritagefinancial.net/2025-government-shutdown/

"Trump breaks his own record for the longest government shutdown in history", Axios, Nov 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/11/05/government-shutdown-length-days-record-trump

"Five-Week Shutdown in 2018/19 Cost U.S. Economy $3 Billion", Statista, Sep 2025, https://www.statista.com/chart/16850/economic-cost-of-the-government-shutdown-compared-to-requested-border-wall-funding/

"Are Democrats or Republicans to blame for the looming government shutdown? Here’s what our poll found", PBS, Sep 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/americans-are-more-likely-to-blame-gop-for-a-shutdown-poll-finds

History of Government Shutdowns . . .

"Explainer: Why government shutdowns keep happening in the United States", Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Oct 2025, https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/democracy-governance/explainer-why-government-shutdowns-keep

"Five insights into the history of government shutdowns", Penn Today (U of Pennsylvania), Oct 2025, https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/five-insights-history-government-shutdowns-brent-cebul-penn-federal

"Government Shutdowns Q&A: Everything You Should Know", Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Sep 2025, https://www.crfb.org/papers/government-shutdowns-qa-everything-you-should-know

"Past Government Shutdowns: Key Resources", Congressional Research Service (produced for members of Congress), Sep 2025, https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R41759/R41759.40.pdf

Economics of Government Shutdowns . . .

"The 2025 Government Shutdown: What Investors Should Know", Heritage Financial, Oct 2025, https://heritagefinancial.net/2025-government-shutdown/

"US government shutdown: What’s the impact on the economy and markets?", J.P. Morgan, Oct 2025, https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/current-events/government-shutdown

"A Quantitative Analysis of the Effects of the Government Shutdown on the Economy Under Three Scenarios, as of October 29, 2025", Congressional Budget Office, Oct 2025, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-10/61823-Shutdown.pdf

"Government shutdowns and the markets – 3 things to know", Edward Jones, Oct 2025, https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/market-news-insights/stock-market-news/market-pulse/government-shutdowns

"Economic Effects of Government Shutdowns", Congressional Research Service (produced for members of Congress), Sep 2023, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12248