This fiscal fight cost the US economy $24 billion—but that’s just the beginning

Two weeks of drama in Washington haven’t moved the policy needle, but the government shutdown and fears of a debt default have their own costs.

• Standard & Poors released an analysis forecasting the cost at $24 billion, or 0.6% of annualized fourth quarter growth. That means rather than a growth rate of close to 3%, we can expect closer to 2%, thanks to the interruption in spending by the government and by furloughed government employees and contractors, as well as businesses that have to hold up operations absent government efforts, like Alaska’s crab-trapping fleet. There’s also likely to have been less consumer spending given plummeting public confidence.