The US government shutdown has consequences across the country, costing an estimated $300 million each day that the government is closed for business.
US President Barack Obama has said that he is “exasperated” by the ongoing government shutdown caused by Republicans attempting to renegotiate Obamacare whilst holding the country to ransom over budget approval.
It is a strange quirk of the US parliamentary system that allows for government shutdowns affecting around 700,000 workers in the US and capital markets around the globe, and a quirk with such major effects that it has left many around the world confused.
The US president issues a call for progress to begin his second term, in language more practical than poetic during his second inaugural address to the nation