Historic sites operated by the National Park Service are already feeling the pain of Donald Trump’s hiring freeze. Already, several sites have been forced to close, including the house site where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. From Philly.com:
David Fitzpatrick, the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2058, said the freeze was responsible for the shuttering of seven attractions, including Declaration House, where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence; exhibits at the site of Ben Franklin’s home and print shop; and the home of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the Polish military leader who served as a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War.
Seems fitting. A spokesman for Philadephia’s mayor says the closures are simply “bad government”:
Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for Mayor Kenney, said lowered staffing levels at the park were dismaying.
“Everyone wants a more efficient and effective government, but we can’t have staffing levels so low that children don’t have the opportunity to learn about the founding principles that made this country great,” she said. “That’s just bad government. We hope that as Congress and the president consider their budget, they will learn from this mistake and institute a budget that lives up to our nation’s proud history of serving our most vulnerable.”
And Philly.com notes the National Park Service operations in Philly aren’t the only at-risk jobs in the city:
The federal government is the largest employer in Pennsylvania and the second-largest in Philadelphia -- nearly 30,000 people here work for it, including the Park Service employees Fitzpatrick represents, Veterans Affairs staffers, and IRS workers.
If more National Park Service sites around the country are forced to close, it will have a devastating effect on the local companies that rely on tourism. Restaurants, hotels, tour guides, horseback and ATV operators, equipment rental companies, sporting goods stores, you name it. All stand to lose and lose bigly if Trump’s hiring freeze stands and more closures take place.
Even without the closure of National Park Service sites, Donald Trump’s xenophobic and heavy-handed border tactics are creating a very real "Trump Slump":
During spring break, Canadian families used to pile the kids into a tour bus and head to New York to see the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center and other attractions. It was the start of the busy season for Comfort Tour, a Toronto-based firm that usually brought between 200 and 300 tourists to New York in March.
This year, 11 people have signed up for the tours.
People from around the world are scared to visit the U.S. now:
“It is a perception challenge,” he said. “People worry what will happen to them at the border. They worry if their cellphone will be searched, what [passwords for] websites they will be asked to jot down.”
A survey released Wednesday by the Washington-based Global Business Travel Assn. found that 45% of European business travel professionals say they are less likely to schedule meetings or events in the U.S.
Even a slight fall-off of tourism could have devastating effects on our national economy. Tourism is a significant contributor to of our economy, creating 1 out of 9 jobs:
$2.1 trillion
$2.1 trillion: Economic output generated by domestic and international visitors (includes $947.1 billion in direct travel expenditures that spurred an additional $1.2 trillion in other industries)
15.1 million
Jobs supported by travel expenditures (includes 8.1 million directly in the travel industry and 7.0 million in other industries)
231.6 billion
Wages shared by American workers directly employed by travel
147.9 billion
Tax revenue generated by travel spending for federal, state and local governments
2.7%
Percentage of nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) attributed to travel and tourism
1 out of 9
U.S. jobs that depend on travel and tourism
If the closure of Jefferson’s Declaration house and sinking tour bookings in NYC are the beginning …buckle up, America.