shutdown

Just about a week ago, the US government shut down.  Ramifications are impossible to feel this early in the madness and this far away, but one can only hope that the Tea Party is right, that government is bad and that everything will run much better without.  Businesses near recently closed national parks are apparently already learning that relying on tax dollars (for the maintenance and running of said parks) isn't a sensible business strategy and that they should do the American thing and stand on their own two legs.

How long can a government shut down for?  Quite a long time, to go by a few recent examples.  Not too long ago, Belgium ran on autopilot for nearly two years.  No one noticed because nothing happened.  Chaos and pandemonium stayed away, and the Belgians kept selling waffles, diamonds, lace and Smurf-colored chocolates.  Late in 2011, they went back to having a government, out of a European sense of tradition presumably.

Italy has been without government for a few decades now, at least in spirit, for anything involving Berlusconi cannot with a straight face be called government.  Even before him, things hadn't looked good, more theater of the absurd than politics as you know it.  Italy is going through rough times now but not any rougher than those of its neighbors, and it's hard to make the case that the lack of government has anything to do with it.

Somalia, to complete the triumvirate that the US now turns into an unlikely quartet, has not only had no government in ages, it has also been a complete basket case, and a place of war, violence and everything that comes with it - with one qualification:  Despite not having a central bank, the country's currency is running as strong as ever.  There has been no authority behind the notes and no official effort to print new ones for more than 20 years, but they're still used daily.  Proponents of the gold standard will tell you the worn 1000 shilling notes are just shreds of worthless paper – and then faint from exasperation.  You can still trade them for qat on the market.

Conclusion:  None!  The three examples are just that.  They prove nothing because examples can't.  They're funny to contemplate and somewhat edifying – the world isn't going to end because civil servants aren't paid, and the dollar won't collapse – but they don't mean that any of what's going on at the moment is sensible or healthy.