MICHAEL FERGUSON II: Self-destruction, Part Two: When the government shuts down, communities pay the price

Self-destruction doesn’t just happen in back alleys and broken homes. Sometimes, it starts in Congress.

When lawmakers fail to govern, communities suffer. When the federal government shuts
down, it’s not just politics — it’s pain. And that pain isn’t theoretical. It lands directly on
families who rely on food assistance, small businesses that depend on government
contracts, farmers already crushed by tariffs, and a middle class that’s barely holding on
under the weight of inflation.

We’ve spent years watching violence tear through our neighborhoods and asking ourselves where it starts. But look higher. Look at a system so gridlocked and dysfunctional that it would rather stall than solve. The shutdown isn’t a glitch — it’s a symptom of a government addicted to brinksmanship and blind to the consequences. And those consequences are real.

In low-income communities, a shutdown hits like a gut punch. SNAP benefits get delayed.
WIC services stop. Federal workers — many of them black, brown, or already living
hand-to-mouth — miss critical paychecks. For families already on the edge, a two-week delay in benefits can mean missed rent, empty fridges and deeper desperation. After-
school programs go quiet. Nonprofits pause. Local resources shrink — while the need keeps growing.

But this crisis isn’t just about the poor. It’s creeping into the heart of the middle class.
Inflation is outpacing wages. Child care costs more than rent. Mortgages are stretching
families beyond their means. And every time the government shuts down or plays politics
with the economy, confidence drops and stability weakens. The middle class — once the
backbone of American life — is eroding. And if that doesn’t count as self-destruction, what
does?

And what about our farmers, the ones we claim to support every election cycle? Many are
drowning in debt, forced to sell off land that’s been in their families for generations. Tariffs
have devastated crop exports, and subsidies are rarely enough to bridge the losses. A
shutdown only adds to the uncertainty, delaying crucial farm loans and support programs at a time when margins are already razor thin.

These aren’t just economic issues — they’re existential ones. The worst part? The people making these decisions won’t feel the consequences. Members of Congress still get paid. Corporate donors stay comfortable. The damage rolls downhill, right into our homes, our communities, our future. Meanwhile, the trust gap grows. People already skeptical of government lose whatever belief they had left. And the cycle continues: neglect at the top, disillusionment at the bottom, and a slow, grinding self-destruction in between.

If we want to stop the violence in our streets, we have to stop the violence in our systems,
the kind done with pens and votes and shutdowns. We need leadership that works. We
need policy that protects. We need a government that doesn’t treat communities like pawns in a partisan game. Because if they won’t break the cycle of self-destruction, we must, starting with our vote, our voice, and our refusal to stay silent.

Remember, your vote matters. If you care more about the NFL score, the NBA playoffs, or
who said what on your favorite reality TV show than you do about the decisions shaping your paycheck, your neighborhood, and your child’s future — you are the problem. Silence is complicity. Distraction is a weapon. And disengagement is exactly what broken systems count on.

If we want change, it starts at the ballot box — not after the damage is already done.

Moses was told by God to use what you have in your hand when confronted with the Red
Sea. God equips you to do what you can do for yourself.

My mood is “March Madness,” performed by Public Enemy.

Michael Ferguson II is an Albany Herald columnist, a community activist and a U.S. Army veteran.