On October 25, local time, the U.S. federal government's "shutdown" has lasted for 25 days, and the negative impact of the "shutdown" on all aspects of society is being further highlighted. More than 500,000 federal employees failed to receive full salaries as scheduled this week, and many had to queue up to receive relief; severe staff shortages have caused flight delays and even cancellations at many airports, and airport operations have also been affected; multiple state governments have warned that if federal government funding continues to be interrupted, hunger may rise sharply.

The main European rating agencies lowered the U.S. sovereign credit rating on the grounds of deteriorating public finances and declining governance standards in the United States.

Fiscal deterioration, governance standards decline

US sovereign credit rating downgraded

The European credit rating agency scope rating company recently released a report lowering the U.S. sovereign credit rating from "AA" to "AA-".

The agency said that the continued deterioration of U.S. public finances is mostly reflected in the continued high fiscal deficit, rising interest spending and limited budget flexibility. These factors together drive the continued rise in government debt levels.The report predicts that without substantial reforms, the U.S. government debt ratio of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 will rise to 140%, far higher than most sovereign countries.

The report pointed out that the decline of government governance standards is also an important reason for the downgrade. The agency believes that the administrative power in the United States is increasingly centralized, and the Trump administration has repeatedly ignored court orders, challenged judicial authority, and evaded congressional supervision, which has reduced the predictability and stability of policy formulation and increased the risk of policy mistakes. The uncertainty shown by the United States in tariff negotiations with major trading partners is an example.

Employees are suspended from pay

Affected aircraft systems

The negative impact of the federal government¡¯s ¡°stop¡± on all aspects of society has been further highlighted, especially in the aviation sector. Since the ¡°stop¡±, approximately 1,30,000 air traffic regulators and approximately 50,000 employees of the Transportation Security Bureau responsible for airport security inspections have been forced to work unpaid, asking for an increasing number of employees for sick leave. According to data from the U.S. Flight Tracking website, the number of flights delayed across the U.S. for various reasons rose from approximately 4,000 earlier this week to 6,158 flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration said on the evening of the 23rd that the shortage of air traffic controllers has caused a large number of flight delays at airports in New York, Washington, New Jersey and other places. That afternoon, the FAA also issued a brief "ground grounding" order to Newark Airport in New Jersey and Bush Airport in Houston.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said at a press conference held in Philadelphia on the 24th,Next week, air traffic controllers will still have a big zero on their salaries, with worse staff shortages, airport chaos and flight delays expected.

Daphne also said that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration¡¯s Air Traffic Control College will run out of funding in a few weeks, and that some students have already decided to drop out of school due to a ¡°stop-down.¡±It will only make it harder for the FAA to recruit enough controllers to make up for staffing shortages, which take years to train.

Nick Daniels, president of the National Association of Air Traffic Managers, said at a news conference:Air traffic controllers who work without pay are under tremendous financial pressure, and some have started part-time jobs to make ends meet. This will prevent them from concentrating on their work, and the safety of the aviation system will decrease as the government's "shutdown" continues.

Federal employees queue up for relief

Hunger or worsening problems

Due to the interruption of wages caused by the government's "shutdown", more and more U.S. federal employees who are forced to take leave without pay are facing the dilemma of being unable to pay their living bills or paying their mortgages. Many people have to queue up to go to food banks to receive relief.

Several employees who were interviewed said that bills, home loans and household expenses put a lot of pressure on them and hoped that members of Congress would also suspend receiving salaries.I used to be the one who gave out subsidies, but now I have to queue up for assistance.

Another employee said he was unable to receive food vouchers despite the suspension of his salary because he did not meet the income standards.This is sad-working for the country for many years, but not getting support when help is needed.

Jacobs, chairman of the CDC's local labor union, saidThe two parties use the livelihoods of federal employees as a bargaining chip in political negotiations, and the current chaos is unprecedented.

In addition, relevant assistance may be stopped due to the government's "shutdown." Nine food banks and anti-hunger groups from eight U.S. states say they will struggle to cope with surging food demand if November's Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are not distributed. Multiple state governments have warned thatIf the benefits are discontinued, the hunger problem could rise sharply.