Congress Forgot Who It Works For

By Emma Goos

The government has shut down again. At midnight on October 1, 2025, Congress missed the deadline to pass a funding plan that keeps federal operations running. The result is hundreds of thousands of workers without pay, essential services delayed or cut, and families across the country left to absorb the consequences. It is a moment that should remind us of something simple and often forgotten: government exists to serve the people. When it fails to do that, it fails entirely.

A shutdown does not mean every light in Washington goes dark. It means that the people who make government work are told to stay home or to keep working without pay. Nearly 750,000 federal workers have already been sent home without pay, while countless essential employees are still showing up every day without a paycheck to keep our country running. They are the people protecting our air and water, staffing airports, caring for veterans, researching new medicines, and feeding families through programs like WIC. When these workers are left without pay, the people they serve feel it too. Flights get delayed, benefits are suspended, and small businesses that rely on government contracts begin to struggle.

Yet even now, as federal employees worry about rent and groceries, members of Congress continue to receive their full salaries. The same lawmakers who allowed this shutdown to happen still get paid while the workers who keep the country running do not. It is a sharp and painful example of how disconnected Washington has become from the people it represents.

This is not the first time our government has reached this point. Since the 1970s, there have been more than a dozen shutdowns, each one a political standoff that left ordinary people paying the price. The longest one happened during Donald Trump’s first term in 2018 and 2019, lasting 35 days and costing the economy billions. Each time, the same pattern repeats: gridlock in Congress, uncertainty for families, and frustration for everyone who depends on government to do its most basic job.

The question we should be asking is not just who caused this, but what it says about our priorities. When the government stops serving people, it stops being legitimate. The role of public office is not to win an argument but to make life better for the people who sent you there. It is to make sure parents can feed their children, workers are treated fairly, and communities have what they need to thrive. A shutdown betrays that promise.

In this shutdown, that promise is exactly what’s at stake. Democrats in Congress are holding the line against a budget that would gut essential programs and send health care costs soaring for millions of families. If the version pushed by Republican leadership were to pass as written, premiums could double across the country—forcing working people to choose between a doctor’s visit and the rent. That’s not fiscal responsibility; it’s cruelty disguised as politics. The fight to stop it isn’t about partisanship—it’s about protecting people’s health, their livelihoods, and the basic promise that government should make life better, not harder.

Both parties have a duty to fix this. Governing is about responsibility, not rivalry. The American people deserve a government that functions every day, not just when it is politically convenient. They deserve leaders who see service as a calling, not a competition.

For Michiganders, this moment feels especially close to home. It affects veterans waiting for care, farmers depending on USDA offices, students relying on Pell Grants, and families who count on childcare subsidies to stay afloat. These are not partisan issues. They are human ones. When the government shuts down, the very idea of public service is put on hold, and that hurts everyone.

If there is one message the people must send to their leaders, it is this: government is not a game. It is a responsibility. Every elected official swore an oath to serve the public good, yet too many have forgotten who they serve. That oath is not about politics or power. It is about protecting the people who make this country work.

This shutdown is not just a political failure. It is a moral one. When families are left in limbo and essential services stall, it is a sign that the people in charge have lost touch with the purpose of their work. Government is not meant to serve the few who hold office. It exists to serve the millions who make up this nation.

As this drags on, remember that your voice matters. Call your representatives. Ask them what they are doing to end this and prevent it from happening again. Remind them that leadership is not about headlines or talking points. It is about showing up, finding solutions, and keeping your promises to the people who trusted you with power.

A government that forgets who it serves cannot be trusted to lead. The people built this democracy, and the people keep it alive. Government exists because we allow it to. It works for us—or it does not deserve to work at all.

Works Cited: AP News. “Trump Administration Threatens No Back Pay for Federal Workers in Shutdown.” AP News, Oct. 2025. AP News. “Staffing Shortages Cause More U.S. Flight Delays as Government Shutdown Reaches 7th Day.” AP News, Oct. 2025. PBS News / NPR / Marist Poll. “In New PBS News/NPR/Marist Poll, 38% of U.S. Adults Say Republicans Mostly Blame for Shutdown.” PBS News / NPR / Marist, Sept. 2025. Reuters. “Trump Administration Questions Automatic Back Pay for Furloughed U.S. Employees.” Reuters, Oct. 2025. Reuters. “U.S. Government Begins Shutdown of Most Operations After Congress Fails to Advance 2025.” Reuters, Oct. 2025. Ground News. “U.S. Government Shuts Down as Trump and Congress Fail to Reach a Funding Deal.” Ground News, Oct. 2025. Ground News. “The Federal Government Is Entering a Partial Shutdown After Congress Failed to Agree on a Funding Bill.” Ground News, Oct. 2025. PBS NewsHour. “Americans Are More Likely to Blame the GOP for a Shutdown, Poll Finds.” PBS / NPR, Oct. 2025.