With each passing day of the federal government’s partial shutdown, more and more little wheels are coming off the bus.
Here’s a look at some of the small and under-the-radar ways that furloughed staffs and shuttered offices are getting under America’s skin:
Here’s Why You Should Be Crying in Your (Craft) Beer
Beer makers from Sierra Nevada to Samuel Adams have something to cry about these days. The Wall Street Journal reports that craft brewers have been unable to bottle and sell new products because they can’t get approval for labels or formulas from the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. “We are trying to drink as much of this paralyzed beer as we can,” Boston Beer Co.founder Jim Koch told the paper. His company makes Sam Adams and has huge supplies of beer made back in November and December that they can’t yet sell. “The only thing we can do is drown our sorrows.” The Journal quotes beer makers as saying “tens of millions of dollars of sales” across the craft beer industry could go down the drain because of the shutdown. “That number goes up every day the shutdown continues,” Koch said.
The shutdown even has some folks worried about SF Beer Week, which kicks off Feb. 1 in San Francisco.
Robocall madness is sweeping the nation!
If it seems like you’re getting more robocalls since the shutdown started, it’s because you probably are. Blame it on the National Do Not Call Registry website, where phone numbers can be registered to block known sales calls. More specifically, blame it on the fact that the website has been down for weeks. “Due to the government shutdown, we are unable to offer this website service at this time,” according to the donotcall.gov website. “We will resume normal operations when the government is funded.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission’s website, which houses the registry, the service fielded more than 5.7 million complaints between July 2017 and June 2018. These were people like Oakland resident Carmen Bush, who told KPIX News that she has been deluged with telemarketing calls, but can’t get her number registered because of the stalemate. “It’s turning into an every-15-minute reminder that the government is shut down,” the high-school English teacher told the station. “I feel bad because I know so many other people are being affected by the shutdown in so many more devastating ways, but this is just one way that didn’t even cross my mind.”
What?? No ice cream?!?!
School districts across the country that depend on federal assistance for lunch programs have been tightening their belts, reducing menu choices as a way to conserve their food stocks in case the shutdown lingers into February or even March. BusinessInsider reports that in Vance County, north of Raleigh, N.C., the local school district posted on Facebook this sobering news: “Starting the week of January 21, minimum level means: one main dish, bread, two vegetables, one fruit and milk.” But wait, it gets worse! “No fresh produce will be included, except at elementary schools as part of the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program,” it said, referring to the federally assisted program that gives free fresh fruit and vegetables to elementary schools. “This program will be decreased to two days each week. No bottled drinks (water and juice) will be available after the current inventory in stock is used.” And finally, the kicker: “No ice cream will be available.”
Your IPO is MIA
The partial closure of the Securities and Exchange Commission has put a damper on the IPO market. The Wall Street Journal reports this week that 31 days of furloughs has prompted companies hoping to go public to delay their plans because federal regulators have stopped “reviewing and approving new and pending corporate registration statements.”
No Red Sox in the White House
Plans by the Boston Red Sox to bring their 2018 World Series championship team to visit the White House next month could be off, according to Fox News. “It’s hit people hard in the New England area. I’m not sure it’s appropriate to be celebrating in such a public way while there’s people who are struggling right now,” Red Sox president Sam Kennedy was quoted over the weekend in the Boston Globe. “That’s been the internal conversation.” Kennedy said he’d make his decision “pretty soon” on whether or not to take the team to Washington.
Furloughs hit the friendly skies
Airlines are bracing for slowing revenue growth in the first quarter, thanks in part to fewer government employees filling the seats. The Wall Street Journal and CNBC are reporting that Delta Air Lines, among other airlines, has put on its corporate seatbelt in anticipation of sluggish sales. CEO Ed Bastian, for instance, said the shutdown would cost his airline $25 million in lost revenue from government travel. Delta also can’t start service on its new Airbus A220 airplanes until it gets approval from the FAA.
