Why Is This US Shutdown Different (and More Intractable)?

Shutdowns have become a recurring feature of US politics – but the current situation appears particularly intractable because of shifting political forces and deep-seated animosity among the two parties.

Some government services face a temporary halt, with approximately 750,000 employees likely to be placed on furlough without pay as Republicans and Democrats remain unable to reach consensus on a spending bill.

Votes aimed at ending the deadlock have repeatedly failed, and it is hard to see a clear resolution path in this instance because each side – including the nation's leader – perceive advantages in maintaining their positions.

Here are the four ways in which this shutdown distinct currently.

1. For Democrats, it's about Trump – beyond healthcare issues

The Democratic base have insisted over recent periods that their party more forcefully fights the current presidency. Well now Democratic leaders have an opportunity to show their responsiveness.

Earlier this year, Senate leader was fiercely criticised for helping pass a Republican spending bill thus preventing a shutdown in the spring. This time he's digging in.

This presents an opportunity for Democrats to show their ability to reclaim some control from an administration that has moved aggressively with determined action.

Refusing to back the Republican spending plan comes with political risk as citizens generally may become impatient as the dispute drags on and consequences begin to mount.

Democratic representatives are using the budget standoff to put a spotlight on ending healthcare financial support and Republican-approved federal health program reductions affecting low-income populations, which are both unpopular.

They are also trying to restrict the President's use of presidential authority to cancel or delay funding approved by Congress, a practice demonstrated in international assistance and various federal programs.

2. For Republicans, it's an opportunity

The administration leader along with a senior aide have openly indicated their perspective that they perceive an opening to advance further reductions to the federal workforce that have featured in the Republican's second presidency so far.

The President himself stated recently that the government closure provided him with a "unique chance", adding he intended to reduce funding for "opposition-supported departments".

Administration officials said it would be left with a "challenging responsibility" involving significant workforce reductions to maintain critical federal operations if the shutdown continued. The Press Secretary described this as "fiscal sanity".

The scope of the potential lay-offs is still uncertain, but the White House has been in discussions with federal budget authorities, or OMB, under the leadership of the administration's budget director.

The budget director has already announced the halting of government financial support for Democratic-run parts the opposition party, such as NYC and Chicago.

3. There's little trust on either side

While previous shutdowns typically involved late-night talks between the two parties in an effort to get federal operations, currently there seems little of the same spirit for compromise presently.

Instead, animosity prevails. The bad blood persisted recently, as both sides exchanging accusations regarding the deadlock's origin.

House Speaker a Republican, charged opposition members of not being serious toward resolution, and maintaining positions over a deal "to get political cover".

Simultaneously, the opposition's chief levelled the same accusation against their counterparts, stating how a Republican promise regarding health funding talks after operations resume cannot be trusted.

The administration leader personally has inflamed the situation by posting a computer-created controversial depiction of the Senate leader and the top Democrat opposition figure, in which the representative appears wearing traditional headwear and facial hair.

The affected legislator and other Democrats called this racist, a characterization rejected by the Vice-President.

4. The US economy is fragile

Experts project about 40% of government employees – over 800,000 workers – to face furlough as a result of the government closure.

This will reduce consumer expenditure – with broader economic consequences, including halted environmental approvals, patent approvals, payments to contractors and other kinds of federal operations tied to business comes to a halt.

The closure additionally introduces fresh instability into an economy already being roiled from multiple factors including trade measures, earlier cuts to government spending, immigration raids and technological advancements.

Economic forecasters project potential reduction of as much as 0.2 percentage points off US economic growth weekly during the closure.

However, economic activity generally rebounds most of that lost activity following resolution, similar to recovery patterns after major environmental events.

This might explain partially why financial markets have shown limited reaction by the current stand-off.

Conversely, analysts say that if the President carries out proposed significant workforce reductions, the damage could be more long-lasting.