The inability for leaders to reach an agreement is similar to a man jumping off a 40-story building and saying: “Don’t worry. Nothing has happened yet,” as he passes the 12th floor, Mort Zuckerman said on Wednesday’s Morning Joe.
The eventual aftermath of the government shutdown, which entered its 16th day on Wednesday, could be “catastrophic,” said Zuckerman, the editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report.
“This is potentially a catastrophe for the United States,” he said. “This is all a symptom of huge deficits and huge debts in the country, and we have not found the political leadership either in the executive branch or in the Congress to deal with it.”
He added that the situation continues to be “absolutely devastating” both politically and economically because there will be a permanent loss of confidence from both the public and world in the American government and its leaders.
As ratings for both political parties and President Obama continue to drop, the House on Tuesday night failed to pass a plan to extend the debt limit and consequently end the closure.








