Nursery owner feels pain of government shutdown

From WVEC, ABC-13, Norfolk, Va.:

VIRGINIA BEACH -- Economists are predicting the government shutdown will hurt small contracting businesses more than large ones.

Norfolk city council member and nursery owner Barclay Winn has a contract to plant hundreds of trees, shrubs and 20,000 flower bulbs at Langley Air Force Base Hospital. Because of the shutdown, he can't get a pass to get on base. He is hoping the shutdown ends soon, so his plants can make it into the ground before it's too late.

“Small to medium size government contractors will feel the pain pretty immediately,” Tidewater Community College Professor of Business Management and Administration Peter Mark Shaw said.

Shaw explained that smaller government contractors do not usually have enough cash reserves to survive a long shutdown.

“By contract they have to fulfill the work, but their payments will be deferred. They are watching their cash flow. There might come a point where they run out of money and can’t finish work for the government.”

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