Reaction to the US Government shutdown has been greeted on this side of the Atlantic with reactions ranging from amusement, schadenfreude and incomprehension to annoyance at the irresponsibility of endangering the still-fragile global economy.
And perhaps we can be forgiven for being baffled as to why a long-overdue reform of the healthcare system to ensure that affordable treatment is available to those in greatest need – the tired, the poor, the huddled masses, the homeless and the tempest-tossed – should result in the closure of national parks and make haircuts unavailable in Congress buildings.
The vehement hostility that still surrounds the Affordable Care Act, more than three years after it was signed into law, does not reflect well on the supposed leader of the democratic world, when emerging nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America are striving to reach the same goal of providing healthcare for the poorest and most vulnerable in the face of much greater economic hurdles.
Risible though some of the effects may seem, there are serious implications. The National Institutes of Health will turn away about 200 patients each week from its clinical research centre in Maryland. Trials there are usually for people who have tried other treatments without success. While existing treatments will continue, it will not take on new patients until Congress agrees a budget and government reopens.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has laid off 65% of staff, making it less likely that any potential disease outbreak will be spotted and contained. If there were another incident such as the fungal meningitis outbreak of a year ago, it is unlikely that the source of the contamination would be detected as quickly, leading to delays in withdrawing affected product.
And what better opportunity could there be for drug counterfeiters to flood the market with substandard or dangerous products?
Political point-scoring is all very well, but not when the cost is measured in human lives.