(Credit: public meme)
Many Americans are asking why Democrats forced another government shutdown. The truth is simple: it’s political theater.
After months of fading media attention and a struggling campaign season, Democrats needed a headline. The shutdown guarantees it.
The debate began when Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping reform designed to close long-standing loopholes in federal spending. One of the most consequential provisions stopped states from passing Medicaid costs for illegal immigrants onto federal taxpayers.
The law required states to cover these costs themselves, eliminating a system that blurred eligibility lines and wasted billions of dollars each year.
Democrats want that provision repealed. Their refusal to pass a funding bill without restoring those payments is what triggered the shutdown.
Behind the rhetoric about “healthcare for all” is an effort to restore a hidden subsidy—one that forces law-abiding Americans to finance benefits for those who entered the country illegally.
California provides a striking example of how this system was abused.
In 2023, the state budgeted $3.9 billion in Medicaid spending for illegal immigrants. Because the federal government reimburses roughly 70% of state Medicaid expenses, most of that cost fell not on Californians, but on taxpayers from other states.
To inflate reimbursement further, California raised hospital and nursing-home taxes, recycled the funds back through Medicaid, and claimed it as new spending.
The maneuver created the illusion of a budget increase to qualify for more federal aid—a financial shell game that allowed the state to spend little of its own money while draining federal resources.
New York and Illinois soon followed. In 2024, New York allocated $2.4 billion to expand full Medicaid benefits to illegal immigrants under 65, while Illinois extended coverage to noncitizens over 42.
The pattern is identical across each blue state: raise spending artificially, capture more federal dollars, and redirect those funds to individuals who are not legally eligible for the program.
The result is a program riddled with inefficiency and corruption.
(…) Medicaid now consumes more than $800 billion annually, accounting for over 15% of all federal spending.
