Comicomment: U.S. gov't shutdown deepens economic pain

The U.S. federal government shutdown drags on, with Democrats and Republicans still locked in a budget deadlock. What seems like a fight over funding is, in truth, a symptom of deeper political dysfunction — governance paralyzed and the machinery of the state at a standstill.

The shutdown is now hitting the real economy: an estimated $15 billion in weekly losses, more than two million federal workers unpaid, and essential public services left in limbo. When politics eclipses the public good, it’s not just the lights in Washington that dim, but the nation’s faith in its government itself.