Hard TIMES In u.s. As Economy starts to shut down
Some institutions have cut their growth outlooks for the American economy.
violence programs across the country. A significant portion of domestic violence and sexual assault programs heavily rely on federal funds granted through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Office on Victims of Crime (OVC) at the US Department of Justice (DOJ) administer these funds to provide access to safety and justice. Domestic violence programs also rely on funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).”
He said, while the HUD continues to distribute funds, some organisations report that they have not been able to access funds during the shutdown. “Without such funds, survivor housing could be in jeopardy. These resources are particularly important for Americans with disabilities,” Hicks told this newspaper.
Even on the immigrant front, there is a cause for worry, says Sarah Pierce of Migration Policy Institute (MPI), another top thinktank in Washington DC.
Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Pierce, a policy analyst at MPI, said: “The agencies and operations related to legal immigrants are fee-funded. There are three programs within the US immigration agency (USCIS) that are not operational because they are tied to the funding bills—the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, Conrad 30 program for J-1 doctors, and the program for non-minister religious workers. Any immigrants who were interested in participating in these will unfortunately be unable to do so until the government reopens.”
She said that two components of the US immigration enforcement regime are not functioning: non-detained immigration courts and Everify. “Immigration courts are only moving forward with cases if the immigrant is detained and has cancelled tens of thousands of hearings of other immigrants who are not currently in detention. Everify, the system through which employers can check the employment authorisation of their employees, is not operational. This creates an awkward problem for employers working in states that mandate such checks,” Pierce told The Sunday Guardian.
It has already started to pinch corporates and CEOS are out talking about “a possible slump and a depressing investment scenario, forcing a low growth rate for America”. Separately, some institutions have cut their growth outlooks for the US economy. In a recent statement, Jpmorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said: “The government shutdown could flatten the country’s economic growth…someone estimated that if it goes on for the whole quarter, it can reduce the growth to zero. We just have to deal with that. It’s more of a political issue than anything else.”
Hard times ahead for America and Americans as Prez Trump refuses to budge and Democrats are in no relenting mood either!