This video can not be played
Watch: How does a government shutdown impact the US?
The US government has shutdown ten times over the past 40-plus years. Meanwhile, in other countries, governments keep functioning, even in the midst of wars and constitutional crises. So why does this uniquely American phenomenon keep happening?
For most of the world, a government shutdown is very bad news – the result of revolution, invasion or disaster. That leaders of one of the most powerful nations on Earth willingly provoked a crisis that suspends public services and decreases economic growth is surprising to many.
In a last-minute deal on Saturday, Congress’s managed to avoid a shutdown by passing a stop-gap spending bill that will keep the government running for another 45 days. But that means the politicians will have to go back to the bargaining table, and the country could be facing another shutdown yet again, once the funding runs out.