And the Office of Management and Budget decided to add more stress by claiming that some federal workers may not get back pay, even though Trump signed a law in 2019 ensuring they would.
This isn’t a government shutdown, but a Suffering Shutdown, with pain inflicted by both parties. The 670,000 furloughed and 730,000 “essential” employees forced to work without compensation have received most of the attention. Now, the misery’s about to spread.
The Trump administration announced last week that SNAP benefits, which help feed one in eight Americans, will be cut off effective Nov. 1. This means nearly 83,000 people in Montgomery, 24,000 in Clark and 15,000 in Greene counties stand to lose the benefits they need.
The Department of Agriculture said it can’t “legally” use $5 billion in contingency funds to keep people from going hungry, but that’s laughable. This administration has used dubious legal theories to blow boats out of the water in the Caribbean, detain an Army veteran caught up in an ICE raid, and refuse to spend money that Congress allocated.
The USDA, on its website, admitted it’s holding SNAP benefits hostage in a political stunt.
Democrats “can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” the website said.
Grandstanding doesn’t help get food to people.
Lee Truesdale, the chief development officer for the Food Bank, said the group delivered 180 emergency boxes of food to Wright-Pat because its pantry is closed during the shutdown. And she noted the concern spreading through the community.
“We’ve been hearing from people (wondering) what will happen. We have folks telling us, ‘I’m already struggling to make ends meet,’ ” she said. “ ‘What can I do?’ ”
There’s more suffering coming. Americans who purchase health care through the Affordable Care Act will see premiums double unless Congress extends tax credits scheduled to stop at the end of the year. Some 22 million people would see premiums double or lose their coverage.
There’s a debate on whether the government should continue the subsidies, enacted under the Biden administration at a cost of roughly $335 billion over the next decade. Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government unless Republicans agree to extend the subsidies, so they share the blame in this fiasco. They should provide the votes to reopen the government and then negotiate. But the rudderless Democrats have shown little inclination to do so.
As those bad late-night commercials used to say, “But wait! There’s more!”
People who own businesses will also start to suffer. Economists estimate a drop in inflation-adjusted GDP growth. Put more simply, consumers are spending less money, and that’s bad news this time of year.
Small businesses comprise the bulk of American enterprise and the holiday season can make or break them. Half of small businesses get at least 25% of their annual revenue and retail small businesses get more than 70%, according to the Advertising Week.
Your neighbors, friends and relatives own these small shops. The Suffering Shutdown will hurt them too, when money doesn’t flow as they had hoped.
Republicans believe they have the upper hand. Polls show they’re wrong, as about half of the country blames the GOP, according to a Reuters/IPSOS poll.
That makes sense since the party in power tends to get blamed for shutdowns. Voters can assess blame during the mid-term elections by voting out lawmakers they believe callously used them as pawns in a political power play.
Both parties have caused the Suffering Shutdown, with more pain on the horizon. One side feels it has to win. Meanwhile, the American public loses.
Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each Sunday.
About the Author