Tourists hang in balance as Congress mulls shutdown
By Harriet Baskas, CNBC
Gerda Stoof was delighted last week to be looking up at the 60-foot-tall stone faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota. She and her husband made a pit stop on their drive home from visiting new twin grandchildren in Ontario.
“I’ve heard about this all my life and have always wanted to see it,” said Stoof, a native of Alberta, Canada. They were unaware that if they’d shown up a week later, the gates to the site of the iconic granite sculpture may have been locked.
That’s because if Oct. 1 rolls around without the nation’s lawmakers settling a budget for the new fiscal year, there may be a partial government shutdown that would affect the nation’s more than 400 national parks and historic sites—including federal agencies that support tourism.
If there is a partial shutdown, it would cost the U.S. travel sector at least $185 million per day in lost economic output, U.S. Travel Association economists estimate. That could also lead to the loss of 530,000 travel-related jobs due to temporary layoffs, reduced wages and fewer hours worked.
I am sure scary Barry is calling and looking for his huge white sheets again to cover the faces on Mt. Rushmore and for all of the barricades like last time they used to keep the public off of their lands and out of their parks even after the states offered to take over. He would also use and manipulate the false story of the starving fifty million he put on food stamps that might start rioting if they are cut off the free food for a few weeks and even worse, they might have to look for work when the free stuff gravy train stops and runs out of other’s money.
Gee. I don’t know anyone named Barry. Is he a friend of yours?
Barry is the name our president went by till he was well into adulthood. Before he started taking himself so seriously.
Will the teabagger faction of the collapsing GOP force another $29 billion clusterfudge over outright lies and the typical fundagelical nonsense about a woman’s right to choose?
Planned Parenthood prevents more unwanted pregnancies and provides more important healthcare for women and families than any of the BS religious fanatic groups combined-
when the baggers do or say something stupid that causes economic or social disaster they just deny it like it never happened and blame someone else- pathetic dupes
This is NOT about a women’s right to make a choice. That is the ‘law of the land’ Period.
This about not funding women’s health care based on where women decide to go for healthcare. Some want zero federal dollars (insurance) paying for mammograms, pap smears and things like tests for STD’s. It’s like telling any man- get your prostate checked- but your insurance will only pay for it -if you go to clinic X. The majority of both sexes say they support Planned Parenthood and their mission to keep women healthy. Lots and lots of women, especially young women, use P.P. as their only health care provider. I am so glad that our congressman came out and told these jokers that they are out of line. It’s Bull— like this that have people considering ‘The Donald”