Government Shutdown Prevents "Grand" Weddings

The citizens and visitors of Flagstaff, Arizona are facing terrible nightmares due to the recent government shutdown. Vacations are ruined; weddings are being canceled; restaurants and stores are losing business. The recent government shutdown is creating an external cost of production to the businesses and people that reside near national parks. These national parks can no longer produce a service for visitors due to the fact that Congress cannot vote on a funding bill; therefore, tourism in the surrounding areas of national parks are suffering. This article illustrates the effects and potential future effects of the shutdown in the area surrounding the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon attracts many people to the town of Flagstaff and creates a significant revenue for Flagstaff businesses. The privately-owned business, Arizona Raft Adventures, stated, "If the government shutdown lasts a month, as some suspect it will, Grand Canyon river outfitters estimate a million dollars in total lost revenue." It's not only the furlouged government employees that are affected by the shutdown, but also the employees and private businesses, like Arizona Raft Adventures, that depend on tourism. Further, people have booked vacations to the Grand Canyon and have traveled many miles just to be turned down once they arrived. A spokeswoman at the Grand Canyon entrance stated, "We have a lot of international visitors that we've turned away this morning." The negative production externalities are not only financially hurting the people of Flagstaff, but they are also depriving visitors and people from appreciate the beauty of these national parks. Is it right for these private businesses and Flagstaff citizens to pay for the additional costs that Congress is creating? I don't think so. 

Milton Friedman was Right

From Charlottesville to Chicago, newspapers across the country are plastered with headlines and front-page stories detailing the recent government shutdown. Tensions rage high and an end to the shutdown does not appear to be in the near future. Milton Friedman warned about the danger of political channels controlling such divisive issues in chapter two of his book Capitalism and Freedom entitled “The Role of Government in a Free Society.”  Friedman argues:

The use of political channels, while inevitable, tends to strain the social cohesion essential for a stable society. … Every extension of the range of issues for which explicit agreement is sought strains further the delicate threads that hold society together. If it goes so far as to touch an issue on which men feel deeply yet differently, it may well disrupt the society (23-24).

This prediction of political strain leading to governmental/societal disruption has certainly proven true in the past few days! Most likely Friedman would argue that healthcare, an issue for which people hold strongly conflicting viewpoints, should be relegated to the private sphere in an effort to reduce the wearing effects of tension on society.