Philadelphia readies for government shutdown

What would Philadelphia look like if the government shut down? Not a whole lot different. Bah-dum-bum!

Jokes aside, the shutdown may not be as serious as it sounds.

 

“I think if it’s a couple of weeks it wouldn’t be that much of a problem,” Philadelphia City Finance Director Rob Dubow told WHYY’ Lizz Fiedler. Despite the threat of closings at the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and other tourist spots, the city is sweating something that isn’t yet upon us. “I know probably one of the biggest impacts on us would be if, you know, federal money didn’t flow through to us and obviously if that continued for too long, there may be some cash flow issues. But we don’t really see that as a big concern at this point.”

Lizz will have the full story later on how a shutdown would affect the city. Tomorrow, the National Constitution Center wants visitors to weigh in. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the NCC will record visitor reaction to air on NewsWorks.org. You can follow along with us, or by using #shutdown on Twitter.