Not just Congress shut down

Before all the knee jerks try to shift blame. Localities, everywhere, are using service taxes for pension debt service. From Illinois to California, sales taxes up, pension taxes up equally; there is no discretionary hiring.

Trump represents the nominal cyclical debt repudiation revolt, Obama and Jerry knew it was coming, they planned for it, it came; Trump fit the role. A well planned cycle. Second longest, I think, not bad.
Via Pension Tsunami:

For the second consecutive year, as it faces a projected multi-million dollar deficit, the Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Education has voted to lay off dozens of teachers, support staff and administrators.
On Thursday, during a public meeting at Desert Mirage High School in Thermal, the seven-member board OK'd the dismissal of 81 staffers in three separate votes. The teacher and administration cuts were approved unanimously, while in its action regarding support staff, the board voted 6-1 with member Maria Machuca dissenting.
District officials recommended the layoffs after projecting a $6.8 million deficit for the next academic year.

These reports have been increasing daily for a year. And in general, localities have been raising sales taxes.

The Watched Pot recession

Nice name, it means a planned downturn, and it is like the 2001, mild and revised away later. But I think it yields tax and sequester, at minimum. We will let the automatic stabilizers do their stuff. But ultimately we need to free discretionary spending at all levels of government. My plan does that, my plan removes the current MMT system and replaces it with Keynesian smooth. The difference is that stimulus works under my reform, the shovel ready projects are not obscured by MMT wedges.