I Get Hatemail

I’ve noticed an uptick in angry email lately, ranging from the mildly disgruntled to the downright ugly. To wit, this gentleman’s missive:

How exactly was the “shutdown” an “actual economic disaster” you dumb c*nt?

oh, never mind.

–corey

(Asterisk added by me.) OK, here’s your answer:

“The bottom line is the government shutdown has hurt the U.S. economy,” S&P said in a statement. “In September, we expected 3 percent annualized growth in the fourth quarter because we thought politicians would have learned from 2011 and taken steps to avoid things like a government shutdown and the possibility of a sovereign default. Since our forecast didn’t hold, we now have to lower our fourth-quarter growth estimate to closer to 2 percent.”

More on how the government shutdown hurt the economy here.