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Families First, Not Billionaire Greed: Day 39 of the Shutdown

  • Writer: Mark Fukae
    Mark Fukae
  • Nov 8
  • 3 min read

A teal and blue graphic highlighting the government shutdown. A large yellow circle reads “Shutdown Day 39: Families First, Not Billionaire Greed.” Below, a bold white quote asks why billionaires receive one trillion in tax cuts while families lose healthcare and food aid. The bottom corner features the Professionals Who Care logo with a heart and stethoscope, while the top left shows a collage of gears, a globe, and a silhouetted figure against a digital grid background.
“Shutdown Day 39 - Families First, Not Billionaire Greed. Caregivers and families bear the cost while billionaires remain untouched.”

By Mark Fukae - Director of Advocacy - Professionals Who Care


The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has now stretched into Day 39. For policymakers, it may be another round of partisan brinkmanship. For caregivers, families, and frontline workers, it is a lived crisis - one that strips away healthcare, food security, housing, and stability while billionaires remain untouched.

At Professionals Who Care, we believe shutdown politics must be named for what they are: a deliberate transfer of resources away from families and toward concentrated wealth.


Care Doesn’t Pause for Shutdowns

  • Healthcare: ACA subsidies are left in limbo, threatening higher premiums for families already stretched thin (see New York Times, Nov. 7, 2025). Medicaid cuts loom, totaling nearly $930 billion over the next decade (Congressional Budget Office, 2025).

  • Food Security: SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans are frozen by a Supreme Court stay (SCOTUSblog, Nov. 7, 2025), forcing caregivers to ration meals or skip medicine to cover food costs.

  • Housing: Section 8 voucher payments are delayed, and homelessness services tied to federal grants are scaling back beds and staff (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2025).

  • Travel & Safety: The FAA has ordered airlines to cut flights as unpaid air traffic controllers face fatigue and shortages (Politico, Nov. 6, 2025). Families traveling for medical care or elder support face cancellations and added costs.


Caregivers cannot “wait out” a shutdown. Dementia, disability, and chronic illness do not pause when Congress fails.


Who Gains, Who Loses

The shutdown is not about fiscal responsibility. It is about priorities.

  • Billionaire Gains: One trillion dollars in tax cuts for the top one percent, expanded loopholes, and billions in new corporate credits (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2025).

  • Family Losses: Cuts to Medicaid, ACA subsidies, climate and housing investments, and food aid that millions depend on (Brookings Institution, 2025).


Why is it acceptable to hand one trillion in tax cuts to billionaires while stripping nearly the same amount from healthcare and food aid for families?

This is not governance. This is government‑sanctioned greed.


The Caregiver Lens

As caregivers, we see the impact firsthand:

  • Missed treatments because flights are canceled.

  • Empty refrigerators because SNAP benefits are frozen.

  • Families forced to choose between rent and medicine.

Shutdown politics are not abstract. They are lived in kitchens, hospitals, and classrooms every day.


A Call to Action

Caregivers should never be collateral damage. Families should not have to wait for emergency court orders to eat or endure canceled flights to reach medical care.

It’s time to demand stability, accountability, and policy guardrails that protect families from being used as bargaining chips.


  • 📞 Contact your U.S. Representative: Demand a bipartisan CR that secures civilian payrolls, WIC, and SNAP.

  • 🗣️ Call your U.S. Senators: Insist ACA premium subsidies be extended now.

  • 🔗 Share this update with your professional networks.



 👉 Join and support Professionals Who Care: https://professionalswhocare.org  

 👉 Sign the petition for durable guardrails: Change.org Petition


References

  • Congressional Budget Office. Federal Budget and Medicaid Projections, 2025–2035. Washington, DC: CBO, 2025.

  • National Low Income Housing Coalition. Shutdown Impacts on Housing Assistance Programs. Washington, DC: NLIHC, November 2025.

  • Politico. “FAA Orders Flight Reductions Amid Government Shutdown.” November 6, 2025.

  • SCOTUSblog. “Supreme Court Issues Emergency Stay on SNAP Benefits.” November 7, 2025.

  • The Brookings Institution. Economic Consequences of Prolonged Government Shutdowns. Washington, DC: Brookings, 2025.

  • Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Tax Cuts and Inequality: The Impact of Shutdown Politics. Washington, DC: CBPP, 2025.

  • The New York Times. “ACA Subsidies in Limbo as Shutdown Continues.” November 7, 2025.

 
 
 

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