Not So Civil Government Shutdown | 11.14.25

In this episode of the Civil Union Pod, the hosts discuss a range of topics, including the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Trump's construction of a $300 million ballroom at the White House, and the political and economic impacts of Missouri's anti-LGBTQ+ laws. They express frustration over Republican policies affecting healthcare costs and SNAP benefits, and criticize the handling of the shutdown by both parties. The episode also touches on California's Prop 50 outcome, the resignation of Congressman Jared Golden, and the consequences of Missouri's discriminatory legislation on state economics and population. 

00:00 Introduction and Episode Kickoff

00:34 Personal Updates and Reflections

01:34 Mel Robbins and Inspirational Quotes

03:21 Northern Lights and Climate Concerns

04:53 Longest Government Shutdown in History

15:45 Trump's Ballroom and Government Spending

19:23 Debating Economic Policies

22:03 California Prop 50 and Political Dynamics

25:18 Missouri's Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws and Economic Impact

28:40 Conclusion 

Music: What's The Angle? by Shane Ivers -

https://www.silvermansound.com

Transcript

0:07

Welcome to the Civil Union Pod where politics and everyday life collide. Today we'll discuss the ending of the longest shutdown in history Trump's new ballroom, California Republicans, and now the Justice Department suing over the Prop 50 outcome and Missouri anti LGBTQ plus laws and how it affects the state's economy. We're no longer the flyover state here in Missouri. We're spilling the tea. So, hey Alex, we're back. Yay. Episode two. Episode two. I hope everyone's been doing great. Hope everyone's been surviving. Yeah. Um, how have you been, babe? I've been good. I've been, it's been, it's been a, it's been a, it's been a journey, but we're here and we are doing great. It's been a great week. Everything is going to plan, so yeah. How are you? I'm doing good. You graduated with your master's degree? Yes. It's one of many things that have happened, but yeah, master's degree is great. I'm very excited for that actually. If you do feel like when they say Master's degrees opens doors, I do feel that. Now, granted, I'm not getting anyone knocking on my door, but I am able to apply for things I wasn't able to apply for. For before. So I definitely think my qualifications have changed, which is amazing'cause all I have, you know, specialty in is what I, my career I've been in since I've been like 22. So this is something new. It's exciting. I am really looking forward to what the 2026 will bring for us. Totally. Me too. Yeah, and you know, I've been like reading and um, and been. Inspired by Mel Robbins. I've been like reading her books and the Let Them Theory and then the five second rule theory that she has. And, um, here's a quote I wanna share with you is, remember this November. If you fail, congratulations. Most people didn't even try. I, that's a great quote. Yeah. I love Mel Robbins a lot. She's like the first person that like got me into like that whole like positivity life coach type person. Jay Shetty, who I would recommend is really good as well. He's gotten more famous though in the years I followed him. He starts, he's just. He, he's interviewed celebrities like Kim Kardashian stuff now. Like he's at that level, Michelle Obama. So it's like he's kind of, I don't know, his lifestyle is just, he's a different type of person. Mel Robbins, I feel like has stayed grounded. She's still just as popular as Jay Shetty, if not more. But she doesn't, I don't think, flaunt it as much. And I really like her. You know? If we had Mel Robbins over for dinner, what would we serve? Ooh, good question. Um. For me, I would do lobster rolls'cause she's from New England. That is, of course I would go to have dinner at her house and we would hire a chef because there's no way either one of us could do good lobster rolls. Like we would hire someone and be like, oh, they're just making lobster rolls and we hope you enjoy it. Maybe. No, she is one person I would love to hang out with. Like super late at night, smoke a joint and then just like stare at like the Northern Lights.'cause the Northern Lights have been around here and just like. Get inspired and talk about like life and what you need to do to get to the next step, you know? No, totally. Mel Robbins would be so fun to get high with. Um, speaking of the Northern Lights, everyone's so positive about, about the Northern Lights. Oh, everyone's like, what? Thinking about it. And I'm over here worried as hell because I'm like, this is not normal. Another atmospheric storm, there was a coworker of mine, she. 21 and she was like, the Northern Lights have been in the Midwest forever. I'm like, just because they've been here, you have your life. Does not mean that's normal. Like you literally, it happened, started three years ago and I think it's because of global warming. It scares me like it's not normal for the atmosphere to be that thin or whatever. It needs to happen for it to show this south like it's supposed to be north, it's great. It's pretty, yeah. I don't know what's causing it or whatnot. And I'm sure we've lost the funding to even find out by the way. True. But, um, everyone was like. Taking pictures and telling me to get out and look at it, and I'm over here like, okay, last year when it happened. I was looking south so I didn't see it. And then this year when I was looking north the right direction, either we're in a too well-lit area or something, I just, I did not see them. I still haven't seen them. And yeah, it's funny. Casey Musgraves, I follow, obviously follow. She's like my, my sister. But she had been posting out the normal lights'cause she can't keep seeing'em either. She keeps missing'em and she gets so frustrated. She's like, y'all, she posted one of like the horizon and it was one of those. Old vintage cups with like the turquoise waves on it and the sky. It was really funny. It's like all poor girl. She would love'em. I dunno everyone, but it was just funny. Alright, let's get into it. Hey, are we great yet, Alex? Depending on who you ask. Exactly. So the longest shutdown in US history is coming to a close. And so, uh, this is what happened. So back in July when the big, beautiful bill was signed into law, Republicans made some nasty moves. They cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars slash snap benefits by nearly 200 billion, and let the Affordable Care Act subsidies expire. And here's the thing. They did it all through this process called budget reconciliation, which means they didn't need a single Democrat's vote to pass it. The bill passed by a simple majority, no Democrats voted for it. Now, independent of that, each Congress must pass 12 appropriations bills to fund the government for the next year, or a short term continuing resolution to keep it running while negotiations take place. This year they did neither. So the government shut down. Why? Well, Republicans just wanted to pass a clean cr, which would temporarily extend funding levels. But what they left out is that this would be under the baseline of what the big beautiful bill says, which would allow the extended a CA subsidies to expire. Democrats held out to restore the a CA subsidies. Which would keep healthcare premiums lower for millions of Americans. When those subsidies run out, millions of Americans are going to get hit with some serious sticker shock. The cost people are paying now, which in my opinion is already expensive as fuck, are going to more than double, and in some cases triple their monthly health insurance bills. We're already, by the way, paying some of the highest premiums in the world. In response to those expirations, this would push millions of people to consider dropping their healthcare coverage because it's just too fucking expensive. Like I, I have great health insurance because I'm on your health insurance, thankfully. But it like. Raises for you every year. Right. Since starting at my job, what, seven years ago, our insurance has gone up by over, I would say$150 a paycheck. And that's just me and you. Like I families. I don't even remember. I know when I first started a family of four or a family of five that a coworker of mine had, they were already paying like. 300 a month, but I couldn't imagine what an actual family is paying right now. Yeah, it's, it's crazy. So, so let's be clear on a few things here. Republicans would not continue the subsidies for the 25 million Americans receiving marketplace a CA coverage. This means healthcare costs skyrocket for everyone because hospitals are going to have to foot the bills somehow. When all these people who get sick or injured or whatnot go in for, you know, help and they don't have the insurance to fucking cover it, it it, honestly, it, it pisses me off, but. I will never understand why Republicans refuse to alleviate, alleviate the burden of healthcare costs in for their constituents in general. It's crazy to me Republicans can't even come up with the backup plan to help the everyday Joes like us to afford decent, reputable healthcare coverage. Even Marjorie Taylor Green agrees with this and I can't believe that. I'm a agreeing with Marjorie Taylor Green's comments. Republicans have always wanted to abolish the a CA. This is their way of doing it. During the shutdown, Republicans compromise the safety of Americans. Due to the TSA and air traffic controllers not getting paychecks, they starved the poorest of Americans by withholding SNAP benefits. When the SNAP benefits lapsed on November 1st, red and blue states rushed to get them paid or brought in support from people like the National Guard to help out at food banks. 42 million Americans rely on Snap. That's about one in every eight Americans. The shit Republicans pool just weighs me down mentally, physically, all of it. And with that, my husband and I, Alex sitting right next to me, raised a combined total of$200 from our neighbors to donate food to a local food bank because I just, I can't bear to think. Of kids or just elderly or anyone starving because they can't afford food. Snap, or in layman's terms, food stamps. Are paid out monthly to eligible Americans whose income is less than 130% of the federal poverty line. That equates to about a$1,600 net income for a one person household. The average monthly benefit is usually around$177 per person per month. Four in five snap households include a child, an elderly person, or a non elderly person with disabilities. In response, Alaska, Maryland, Vermont, Virginia, a handful of other states freed up funds to pay for the November Snap cuts. States like Connecticut, New Mexico, West Virginia sent funds to already strained food banks because the rising food costs continue to hit low income families Hard. Trump has never had to worry about a grocery bill in his life. By the way, this shutdown resulted in the furlough of roughly 900,000 federal employees and kept another 2 million working without pay. So here's a quick rundown of what I just said. Republicans compromise the safety of Americans, especially those who have flown. Between October and November, Republicans have starved the poorest of Americans. This was not a Democratic shutdown. The Republicans hold the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. This is on them. That wasn't until eight Democratic Senators bent the knee to end this shutdown. The Democrats who bent the knee and negotiated horrible deal. Mind you, this negotiation does not guarantee a vote on a c. A subsidies. Here's a bit from Sonny Hostin, from ABC's, the View. You know, I agree with her. Schumer, I'm sorry. I'm sorry guys. I love Schumer. I love New York. Schumer needs to step aside. We need new blood, a replacement, and I personally would love to see Amy Klobuchar to take his place and like lead the Senate. You know, Schumer is great, but we don't need, we don't need that type of Democrat leading. Anymore we don't need Nice. We need someone that's aggressive or that's someone that's someone that can really push things and Amy would be a great choice, I think. Totally. I totally agree. Anyways, so are we great yet, babe? Again, I think depends on who you ask or you know. Well, that's a question to ask maybe in a. Like six months and see what all these effects will hap, like where people will be once all these things start taking in effect. I do wanna add, the Democratic party just won stunning victories. November 4th, there were numerous democratic wins showing people were starting to really back what the Democrats were standing for and not even. Not even five days later, the Democrats as a unit aren't standing. They were pushed over again by the Republicans. Chuck Schumer voted no, but how hard did he actually try to prevent these eight Democrats to defect? I think what mattered more in all this wasn't the actual deal itself, but the fight. Democrats needed to hold the line. I don't think people understand the importance of that. People wanted to see them finally stand up and hold the line. Trump has dismantled constitutional constraints left and right, and this was the test. And they folded. It shows weakness. I'm sorry. It does, and I understand government workers deserve to get paid, obviously, but it's important to note that these Democrats that folded. A couple of them are retiring next year. None of them use snap and I'm pretty sure none have to worry about their health insurance bill when it comes to snap. I do also wanna mention when the government shut down, the Trump administration rushed to cut Snap. Even though there was money available to pay for those benefits, they purposefully tied SNAP into the shutdown even though it didn't need to be. That is authoritarianism at its finest. And Democrats just taught an authoritarian like Trump that threatening to hurt people, that holding the government hostage works to get their way, that should scare us. And in a year one, they allowed this. And I think, and I've, from what I've read from other sources. A lot of people think that this is going to make Trump stronger because he realizes he can get what he wants, may take 40 days, but he will get what he wants by holding the country hostage, because it already happened, it happened once for him. He he's there. It was a victory for them. Yeah. So while the shutdown was occurring, Trump certainly did not work with legislators. He traveled to Mar Largo, England and fucking tore down the east wing of the White House. There is this thing called the Commission of Fine Arts. It's a small, independent federal agency that advises on the design aesthetics affecting Washington DC's appearance. The mission of this agency is to protect and enhance DC's artistic character, if you will. But Trump swooped in and fired the six member team whom were all appointed by Biden, just so he could bypass their approval and build a fucking$300 million ballroom. So let's get this straight. 2 million Americans are working without pay our air safety compromised. The poorest Americans are starved. He literally has bulldozers plow down the east wing of the White House, our house. To make room for his ballroom. Let me remind you, the White House is our house. Seriously. Our tax dollars fund. This entire shit show going on it. We fund it. We actually own the White House, but not the ballroom. We don't own the ballroom because the ballroom has been funded by donations of billionaires. And some of our most favorite billionaires, by the way, Amazon, apple, hard Rock International, Google Meta, Microsoft T-Mobile, just to name a few. Actually, you know, I'm gonna record a twin episode just so we can name all the people who donated to this ballroom. Maybe we can make a list of what products to stay away from or something. It's a pretty unique list actually. Yeah. It's interesting when everything happened to Kimmel, I believe, you know, people were really quick to shut down their Hulu and, and Disney, which was great. You know, people really took a stand and it, it, it worked. But when so many of these companies, I mean, I would say a hundred percent of Americans use these companies on a daily basis. It's very hard to, to, you know. Understand that supporting them is supporting other things. It's just, it's gonna be, it's really difficult. But anyway, I know we're gonna touch on this and dive deeper in another episode, but just to give you something to chew on until then, listen to this. This is something I've kind of read and figured out. Remember the January, 2021 insurrection. Obviously everyone does. When people literally broke into the capitol, Trump went and sued YouTube for suspending his account after the insurrection because obviously they should have, and everyone should have, well. YouTube chose to settle the lawsuit that he brought, and it was like a six month process, but they ended up, they ended up closing it by settling. They agreed to pay Trump$24.5 million, which is now going straight into the White House ballroom. So let that sink in for a moment. Insurrection. Trump got in trouble because he flamed it on social media. They took down his accounts. YouTube did. He sued, they won. Oh no, he won. They settled. And the money that he's winning, uh. In the settlement he's putting towards a ballroom that will always be part of the White House, and that numerous presidents going forward, numerous important people will be utilizing in the future. That is a, that is a cloud over something on this White House that will forever be there. Yes. It's only 24.5 million out of the 300 million that's gonna take, but that's just, that's just one little. Segment of this, and it's just, it's, it's crazy to wrap your head around. Yeah. I wonder if anyone has verified the legal status of the construction workers at the, this new ballroom, by the way. Good question. That's the life we're living now, so here's some tips to get people to shut the fuck up. Okay. Are you ready, Alex? Yeah. I'll read the quote and you can just like follow up. Okay. So, ugh, I'm so sick of Democrats calling me a bigot because I voted for Trump. I voted for his economic policies, not the bad stuff. Okay, wait. I love the voice you used for a Republican. It's, it, it's fitting well. If you voted for him though, you voted for all of his policies. That's how it works. It is not a buffet. I was just sick of all the out of control spending by Democrats. Republicans are better for the economy. Facts. The US economy has historically done better under democratic presidents than Republican ones. Seriously, the real GDP has grown about 4.3% under Democrats and 2.5% under Republicans. 10 of the last 11 recessions have occurred under Republican president. Yeah, because they inherited a bad economy from the Democrats before he took office. In term of jobs, total job growth has averaged 2.5% per year under Democratic presidents and just over 1% for Republican presidents. Okay. But plenty of people have made MO a lot of money under Trump, so I would probably check those numbers. The civil union always checks numbers, but you're right. There are a lot of people who have made plenty of money under Trump. Not regular people, but the ultra wealthy for sure. Under the two, 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the wealth of US billionaires jumped 77%. That is$2.2 trillion in the year's following. According to the CBO, the top 10% control about 60% of the nation's total wealth, while the bottom half of families hold just over 6%. Now you said republicans do worse because they inherit a bad economy for democratic presidents. No, that's, that's just plain wrong. Historical data shows that Democrats often inherit a weaker economy. And leave a stronger one. Republicans inherit a stronger economy and leave it a weaker one. The economy doesn't just happen. It responds to leadership, policy, timing, and Democrats simply have a stronger record. Dang, we just shut that person down, babe. That was good. I think that's what everyone needs to start learning to do. Everyone you know right now is just being quiet or they want to ignore things. It's like, no, you gotta, you gotta stand up and respond to these idiots. California RS and the justices department are suing California for the Prop 50 passage. It's. Interesting that Donald Trump goes to Republicans in Texas and says, give me five more seats. And they say, yes, sir, anything you want, sir. And Lapdog Abbott passes it. But the people of California who actually get to have a voice and get to have their vote count, Republicans don't like that. The Prop 50 congressional redistricting passed with nearly 65% of the 11 million votes cast. Yeah, I mean, it seems like in Texas, give me five more seats is treated like a royal decree rather than a Democratic ask. Meanwhile, in California, democracy still votes and nearly 65% voted yes to prop 50. Uh, guess the difference between the lapdog and democracy is who gets to bark last. Ooh, I like that. Now also, Jared Golden is not running for reelection. Who? Who's Jared? Golden and why should you care? Well, Jared is a US House Democrat, who represents one of Maine's most Trumpy districts. This district happens to be represented by Golden, who's a Democrat. He's not leaving because of that. He's leaving because he doesn't like it. He wrote an op-ed and says, quote. I don't fear of losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning. He dreads the prospect of winning. Let that sink in. He goes on quote, simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father, and a son. End quote. I don't know. Sounds fishy to me. People love power, but essentially the explanation is more about the feeling that he can't get things done. Yeah. I mean, politics is about politicking. You have to hustle. What's his name again? Jared Golden. All right, hold on. I'm reading up on him right now. Oh, here's one. He openly supported Trump's tariff policy. Ew. Gross. Uh, let's see. Uh, he's one of two house Democrats to side with Republicans. Overturning Joe Biden's student loan debt cancellation. Ugh. Another red flag. Uh, let's see. Marijuana. Oh, he gets an A Grade from the National Organization for the reform of marijuana laws. Okay. Uh Right. And then oh LGBT issues. Okay. Golden voted in 2022 for the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense Mar of Marriage Act and federally protected same sex and interracial marriages. Okay. He was one of four Democrats to join the majority of House Republicans. To pass the annual defense policy bill, which included provisions barring Pentagon funding for abortion and transgender rights. Ugh, another red flag. Sounds like the sky. I don't know. I'm in the middle with the sky. What else do you have, babe? So also, a study finds Missouri's anti LGBTQ plus laws are linked to population loss and decline in tax revenue. Uh, that makes sense. Yeah. By continuing the anti LGBT rhetoric, uh, business and people leave, prospects of hiring employees and bringing in new businesses also kills state growth and analysis. By movement advancement Project estimates hundreds of millions of dollars in household income has left the state. Research has also shown that among LGBTQ plus identifying people age 13 through 24, around 39% have considered or have already moved to another state. Another study by the National Center for Transgender Equality found 47% of transgendered people have thought about or have already moved due to discriminatory policies. But also, yeah, discriminatory legislation portrays this state as unwelcoming. Of course. Absolutely. Missouri is one of 10 states highlighted in the study as having a higher proportion of respondents moving away. States with larger LGBTQ plus populations had higher rates of economic growth between 2010 through 2019. A top concern for Missouri businesses is their ability to recruit and retain talent, which equates to economic growth. Businesses want to ensure that people feel safe in their neighborhoods and homes. I agree. I don't want my money spent in places that. Don't believe we should even exist. You know, you know I did notice when we went to the Apple Butter Festival in late October, uh, you were spending money at booths that were locally owned by LGBT people. Absolutely, and I will continue to do that anytime I saw a little rainbow flag. I think I've bought, there were two candle companies, which also they, I have a friend that sells candles in Chicago. He's a great dapper flame. But, um, the two that I bought from, yeah, they were both LGBTQ plus and it's kind of funny'cause they was this straight guy with her, his wife shopping for candles and he goes, what's a bear? And the wife was trying to explain it to him. And I'm just like, oh man. This is a funny interaction, but yes, it send a powerful negative signal to potential residents, investors, businesses, and workers. It says to them that the state of Missouri is not a place they should wanna visit live or do business, or move their family. I mean, no one wants to go to a red state if they're not being supported financially. Even with healthcare, everything going on with healthcare now in this country, you wanna go to a state that has your back. Yeah, the rising extremism out of Jeff City has removed a sense of community, which is crucial for our Missouri State economy to grow. Wow. That's good. Good job, Alex. That was a great, great episode and great findings. I love those stories. Yeah, I feel like we had some good facts. I think people are wanting to learn now. I think we're getting a pivot point where people were ignoring the news the first six months of this year, and I think now we're starting to see people turn out to these protests. They're starting to want to be educated so. We're doing our due diligence. Yeah. Yeah. We can't say, we just sat by and did nothing, so that's good. So anyways, uh, I think this wraps it up for us today. Um, thank you so much for listening. If you made it through, I, I absolutely love you. Make sure to give us a follow on Instagram and TikTok. We're gonna get those up and fire it up again. And, yeah, that's it. That's all we got. Yeah, please follow and share our post. We're really gonna try to get that back up. So I hope everyone has a great rest of your week. Bye bye.