What Democrats AREN’T Telling You About the Shutdown

Reason's Peter Suderman and Eric Boehm discuss the government shutdown live at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

The government has shut down—but don't get too excited. Taxes are still being taken from your paycheck, drugs are still illegal, and the Commerce Department (for some reason) still exists.

So what does the shutdown mean for ordinary Americans? And how long is this budgetary standoff likely to continue?

Officially, the government shutdown happened because Congress failed to pass a new budget (or a continuing resolution) before the new fiscal year began on October 1. In reality, this shutdown is all about one specific part of the federal budget: health insurance subsidies delivered as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Democrats refused to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open because Republicans are opposed to extending an expanded version of those subsidies, which were originally created as a temporary measure during the pandemic. If those subsidies aren't extended, millions of Americans who purchase health insurance via the Obamacare system will face higher premiums next year. On the other hand, does it make sense for the federal government to offset the cost of health insurance for households earning well over six figures?

Health care already consumes the biggest slice of the federal budget, and this shutdown is unlikely to change that—or to reduce the overall size and cost of government. Instead, brace for finger-pointing, silly memes, and yet another bipartisan decision to borrow and spend money that we don't have.

There must be a better way to do this—Congress needs to stop governing by crisis and start passing real budgets that make clear tradeoffs.