Twice in 2023, the American government faced the prospect of having to shut down because politicians in congress couldn’t agree on a budget to fund it. Each time, a shutdown was narrowly averted – by last minute, short-term deals.

Now, a third deadline is looming in mid-January. It leaves politicians – with fierce disagreements over what services the government should pay for, and how – little time to reach an agreement.

We look at the impact of this uncertainty on businesses, and ask, in an election year, what can be done to bring the chaos to an end?

Presented and produced by Rob Young

(Image: An employee walks past a sign at the entrance of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History during a 35-day partial government shutdown in Washington, DC, January 28, 2019. Credit: Getty Images)