The economic costs of the government shutdown may already exceed the $5 billion President Donald Trump is demanding for a border wall, according to some analysts’ estimates.

The federal government partially shut down two weeks ago when the Senate failed to pass a spending bill that included the border wall funding, beginning a standoff that has carried into the new year.

Nine out of 15 federal departments, along with dozens of agencies and federal programs, have closed or reduced services. Roughly 800,000 federal employees are affected, either because they have been directed to stay home without pay or because they are working but not receiving paychecks during the shutdown.

Some taxpayers may think this isn’t such a bad thing. The drop in payroll and the decrease in government services would mean less taxpayer money spent, right? Actually, no. The truth is that the ongoing partial government shutdown is costing American taxpayers and the U.S. economy overall billions of dollars.

How Much a Government Shutdown Costs

Referring to a 2013 shutdown that lasted 16 days, Rand Paul, the Republican […]