Econintersect: It appears there still is not enough bipartisan support to break the impasse to fund the government. Today, the BLS did not issue the August Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report, whilst US Census did not release the August trade data.
The government shutdown news
from CBS
As of now CBS News estimates that 214 House members, including all Democrats and 14 Republicans, would support such a bill, meaning the votes are almost there, but not quite. This situation is in flux, with members’ preferences changing depending on the specifics of the bill, or as the shutdown continues. We’ll keep you posted as the numbers change. Estimates are based on CBS News reporting from Capitol Hill along with the most recent public statements of House members.
from the Guardian
I do not know how the current fiscal controversy will end. I do know how it will not end, however. President Obama will block all efforts to delay, defund, or deform his signature accomplishment: the Affordable Care Act, known to friend and foe alike as Obamacare. As long as Republicans continue to demand substantial changes in the law as the price for reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling, gridlock will reign.
There are indications that some rank-and-file Republicans are beginning to understand this. I suspect that their leaders have from the start but didn’t dare say so.
That leaves a number of possibilities. One is that in the end, the Republicans will simply capitulate and agree to end this crisis without getting anything in return. Speaker of the House John Boehnerreportedly told several worried Republican moderates that he will not permit the US to default on its debt. If he said that and meant it, then Obama need only stand firm. That seems to be what he is inclined to do anyway.
