US President Donald Trump gave up in the end when Democrats took control of the House and eventually reduced his ask to US$1.4 billion. Nowadays, it appears easier for Trump to simply tariff anything and anyone, from imported goods to H-1B skilled labour to tourists and investors alike. As a sign, the US dollar is down 9% this year, making it the worst-performing currency this year.
The US Government has shut down — again. Since 1976, it has done so 20 times, albeit with a rosy period between 1995 to 2013 where it continued to function continuously, as its citizens expect it to do so.
As partisan brinkmanship between Republicans and Democrats over budgets or the debt ceilings gets more shrill and Congress appears unable to find middle ground compromises, they also seem to get longer. Thus far, the 34-day-long shutdown between Dec 21, 2018, and Jan 25, 2019, is the lengthiest to date, as the US$5.7 billion ($7.3 billion) border wall with Mexico takes priority.
