| | | Government Shutdown
To me, it seems the Democrats are shutting down the government because the Republicans will not continue the special funding for the ACA/Obama Care health plan added during COVID so people without jobs would have access to health care with a monthly cost as low as $1.
Some say the Democrats want to give this free health care to illegal aliens (formerly called migrants under the Biden Administration) and Republicans don't want to pay for it. Here in California, Governor Newsom has said "we" can't afford to give health care to people who are here illegally. So, the frigging stupid county I live in, aka known as the Silicon Valley or Santa Clara County, wants us to vote for a 0.5% higher sales tax to make up SOME of the shortfall "to keep hospitals open." I've argued if we want to do this, it should be statewide where 0.25% extra would probably fund it as most of the low income and homeless "migrate" here for our lavish handouts and willingness to let many camp on the streets in RVs just blocks away from Google HQ.
From Seeking Alpha Morning email:
Funding deadlock
The U.S. government shutdown has begun, after federal funding for FY 2025 ended at midnight. The Senate failed to pass a stop-gap funding bill before the deadline, after a 55-to-45 vote on the measure fell short of the required 60 votes.
What's at stake: The partial closure of the government is expected to result in the furloughs or layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 750,000 employees could be furloughed each day, although this could vary as some agencies might furlough more staffers the longer a shutdown persists. Some job losses could become permanent, with President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) signaling mass firings.
Shutdown length: While OMB's head Russell Vought said it's difficult to predict the duration of the shutdown, bets are being placed on the possible outcome. On Kalshi, the odds are stacked heavily on the shutdown lasting more than five days, while Polymarket odds point to 10-29 days. Recall that the most recent shutdown lasted from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019 - the longest in U.S. history.
Market check: Stock index futures pointed to a lower open Wednesday, but Treasury yields were steady. Safe-haven demand was evident, with gold (XAUUSD:CUR) notching a fresh record high. The U.S. dollar slipped to its lowest level in a week. "Markets historically have taken shutdowns in their stride," Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid said. "In fact, the S&P 500 (SP500) rose in the last six shutdowns, and 10Y Treasury yields came down in the last five."
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After a HUGE gain in the first three quarters, the first trading day of Q4 seems to be a big yawn...
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