by Maximillian Alvarez | Oct 22, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, Working People
The federal government shutdown is now in its fourth week. Over 700,000 federal employees have been furloughed, with nearly as many continuing to work without pay, yet there are still no signs that an end to the shutdown is near. “Unlike past presidents, Mr. Trump appears to feel little urgency to strike a deal to reopen the government,” Luke Broadwater writes at The New York Times. “Instead, he has used the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, as an opportunity to further remake the federal bureaucracy and jettison programs he does not like, seizing on unorthodox budgetary maneuvers that some have called illegal.” In this episode, we speak with three furloughed federal employees about the harm government shutdowns cause working people, and we discuss why this shutdown is different.
Guests:
Adam is a furloughed federal employee who works in recreation for the US Forest Service, managing hiking, biking, and equestrian trails in central Idaho. He serves as chapter president of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 1753, and he is an organizer with the Federal Unionists Network.
Ellen is a furloughed federal employee who works in SNAP oversight and administration at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. She serves as chapter president of National Treasury Employees Union Local 255, representing FNS employees at the Northeast regional office, and she is an organizer with the Federal Unionists Network in Boston.
April is a furloughed federal employee who works in the office of Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families HQ in Washington, DC. She serves as chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union Local 250.
Additional links/info:
Federal Unionists Network website, BlueSky, and Instagram
Federal Unionists Network: “Join Us To
by Julia Conley | Oct 21, 2025 | Article, Economy, Economy and Inequality, ICE, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Trump
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Oct. 20, 2025. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
The $170 billion in new funding for immigration enforcement operations that the Republican Party included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year led some to warn that the Trump administration was ramping up spending at anti-immigration agencies not just to fund its attacks on migrants, but to deploy federal forces against anyone it wanted to across US communities.
New reporting on Monday detailed just how much US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has spent on weaponry since President Donald Trump took office—weapons that have been purchased as the administration has turned federal agents on US cities such as Chicago and Portland, illustrating how the president is treating increasingly armed ICE officers as his “private military,” as one progressive critic said.
As images spread online of immigration agents deploying pepper spray and tear gas at nonviolent protesters, Judd Legum at Popular Information recently delved into government contracting records from the Federal Procurement Data System and found that ICE has increased its spending on “small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing” by 700% this year compared to 2024 numbers.
The agency spent $71,515,762 on small arms from January 20—the day Trump began his second term—through October 18.
The number dwarfs ICE’s spending during the first Trump term, during which the agency spent about $8.4 million annually on small arms, and during President Joe Biden’s administration.
The type of weaponry purchased by ICE also raised alarm Monday, with Legum reporting that while most of the agency’s spending was on guns and armor, “there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and ‘guided missile warheads and explosive components.’”
“If the immigration enforcement apparatus of the United States were its own national military,
by Branko Marcetic | Oct 21, 2025 | Argentina, Article, Economy, Economy and Inequality, health care, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Trump
This story originally appeared in Jacobin on Oct. 17, 2025. It is shared here with permission.
Last November, Americans voted for a president who said he would put “America First.” They’re getting “Argentina First” instead.
Earlier this week, the Donald Trump administration announced it was doubling its planned bailout of Argentina, which, under President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity program, has seen its economy stagnate and the country scramble to sell $1 billion of its foreign reserves to stabilize its collapsing currency.
The Trump team’s plan is to scrounge around for another $20 billion from the private sector to send to the crisis-stricken country, on top of the $20 billion of US taxpayer money Trump already pledged he would use to buy up pesos, which would supposedly be a loan. The $40 billion Trump is sending the country is roughly on par with the $41.8 billion it owes the International Monetary Fund — by far the largest debt on the organization’s books, half of which was taken out under Milei earlier this year.
There is no benefit to working Americans from this, and the president isn’t even pretending there is. As he explained, “it’s just helping a great philosophy take over a great country,” because “Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries that I’ve ever seen, and we want to see it succeed. It’s very simple.”
That “great philosophy” is Argentinian president Milei’s “anarcho-capitalism,” or libertarianism, which holds that government should be radically shrunk and its role in society limited to the barest essentials, while letting private, corporate interests run free. Seriously pursued, turning that philosophy into concrete reality necessitates the dismantling of safety net programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and Social Security; the
by Jake Johnson | Oct 20, 2025 | Donald Trump, Economy, Healthcare, News, Recession, Trump Administration
states accounting for roughly a third of the nation’s gross domestic product are currently in recession or on the verge of one as the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, with congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump refusing to support an extension of key healthcare subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of the year. A recent analysis by Moody’s Analytics…
Source
by Maximillian Alvarez | Oct 17, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, video, Working People
Around 31,000 registered nurses and front-line healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are on strike, demanding better wages, working hours, and proper staffing. The strike began on Tuesday, Oct 14, and spans hundreds of medical centers and offices in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. Calling in from the picket line in Portland, Oregon, Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) and Executive Secretary of the Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (OFNHP) Nick Eng speaks with TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez about what healthcare workers are fighting for.
Additional links/info:
Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (OFNHP) website, Bluesky, and Instagram
OFNHP: “We are Kaiser: Fighting for the Care Our Patients Deserve“
AP News, “31,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care workers strike for better wages and staffing“
Credits:
Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Around 31,000 registered nurses and frontline healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are on strike, demanding better wages and proper staffing among other things, and even more workers could be joining the picket line soon. The strike began on Tuesday and spans hundreds of medical centers and offices in California, Hawaii, and Oregon. And as we always do here at the Real News Network, we’re going to take you to the heart of the action and to the front lines of struggle right now and calling in from the picket line in Portland, Oregon. I’m speaking with Nick Ang today. Nick is a registered nurse, first assistant, and he’s the Executive secretary of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. Nick, thank you so much for
by Maximillian Alvarez, Taya Graham and Stephen Janis | Oct 2, 2025 | DC, Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, video
Seven years ago, during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, the US endured the longest government shutdown in its history: 35 days. Now, in the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, with Republicans and Republican appointees controlling all three branches of government, the government is shut down again. How long will this shutdown last? What short-term and long-term impacts will the shutdown have on poor and working people, on the Affordable Care Act, on the Trump agenda, and on the congressional battle to release the Epstein files? TRNN Editor-in-Chief and “Inequality Watch” hosts Taya Graham and Stephen Janis break down your questions on Day 1 of the 2025 government shutdown.
Additional resources:
Follow Taya Graham on Instagram and TikTok for more on-the-ground updates
Follow Stephen Janis on Instagram and TikTok for more on-the-ground updates
Credits:
Studio Production / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible
Maximillian Alvarez:
Seven years ago during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, America endured the longest government shutdown in our history. 35 days Now in October of 2025, in the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. When Republicans and Republican appointees control all three branches of government, the government is shut down. Again, we don’t know how long this is going to go on, but the real news is going to be here for as long as it takes to get you the information and perspectives you need to act. And our resident inequality watchdogs, Taya Graham and Steven, Janice were on the ground in Washington, DC earlier this week doing just that. And this was just hours before the shutdown actually
