The Sixteen Days of Shutdown Song
Sixteen days – that’s how long the government shutdown lasted, at a total cost to the American economy that may reach $24 billion. About one fifth of that amount would have come to the Treasury as tax revenue, so the government itself may have lost $300 million for every day that Congress dithered.
These statistics certainly sound depressing, but their importance can be hard to grasp without some concrete points of reference. So, to lighten the mood – and because the holidays are just around the corner – here’s a little ditty that can help to make the numbers seem real. You already know the tune.
“On the Nth day of the shutdown, Congress took away from me:
One year of nuclear fusion experiments…
Two Mars landers…
Three Joint Strike Fighter airframes…
Four interstate truss bridges…
Five embassy buildings…
Six emergency management headquarters…
Seven green vehicle research programs…
Eight nationwide HPV vaccinations…
Nine flood levees…
Ten museum renovations…
Eleven rural electricity projects…
Twelve low-income housing grants…
Thirteen tanker spill cleanups…
Fourteen veterans’ homes…
Fifteen beach restorations…
And sixteen urban development corridors.”
Now, let’s all sing the chorus together: “Five… embassy… buildiiiiiiings!”
