The media wants America to panic over another government shutdown, as if life stops when Washington is not spending money. But let us be clear from the start: the shutdown is not the crisis; Congress is the crisis. The true emergency facing this nation is not a temporary pause in government operations; it is a federal government that refuses to stop mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren.
America now owes more than $ 37 trillion, and Congress is adding roughly $ 25 billion to the debt every single day. We now pay over 1 trillion dollars a year in interest alone, more than our entire national defense budget. That is not normal. That is not sustainable. That is national betrayal.
This financial disaster was not built by one political party alone. Democrats aggressively push an ever-expanding government and call it compassion. Establishment Republicans pretend to fight spending during election season, then quietly go along with trillion-dollar deals that keep lobbyists happy and campaign checks flowing. One party spends loudly, the other spends quietly, but both are spending this nation toward collapse.
Any time a small group in Congress demands real spending cuts, the media and political class accuse them of extremism or of holding the nation hostage. But that is false. The only people holding America hostage are the career politicians who refuse to stop borrowing from future generations in order to protect Washington’s addiction to spending.
We are constantly told that spending cuts are cold and heartless. Really? Since when did bankrupting an entire nation become an act of love? Since when did funding endless foreign wars, wasteful bureaucracies, and taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants become a moral obligation?
Ordinary Americans are forced to live within a budget. Families cut back when times get tough. Small businesses make sacrifices to survive. Meanwhile, Washington refuses to eliminate even one dollar of waste. They will not audit a single agency. They will not cut a single failed program. They will, however, keep borrowing in our name.
Debt is not compassion. Debt is theft from the next generation.
Here is why shutdown fights never change anything:
- Congress does not pass real budgets anymore. It governs through crisis deadlines.
- Most federal spending increases automatically every year without a single vote.
- Congress stuffs every funding bill with pork, lobbyist payoffs, and foreign giveaways.
- Anyone who objects is smeared and politically targeted.
This is not fiscal management. It is a spending machine designed to protect political power, not the American people.
A recent national survey revealed that nearly 80 percent of Americans want Congress to extend Obamacare subsidies, including almost 60 percent of people who identify as MAGA. That number should concern every patriot. It means even many conservatives have become comfortable with government dependence.
Government spending has become part of our national culture, and that is dangerous. Washington has learned to buy silence. Once enough people rely on government money, they begin defending the very system that is destroying them. This is not just a budget crisis. It is a cultural crisis. And cultural decline always precedes national decline.
This crisis will not fix itself. America must choose responsibility again, and quickly.
The debt crisis was not caused by incompetence. It was caused by political greed and a corrupt ruling class that values power more than the future of this nation.
Not in 10 years and not after another commission or study. Now. End funding for illegal immigration. Shut down useless federal agencies. Eliminate waste. Cancel foreign giveaways until America’s own house is in order.
We need term limits to elect fiscally anchored representatives to Congress and hold them accountable. We need a balanced budget amendment and an end to automatic spending increases. Congress must vote on every major budget issue. No more 2,000-page omnibus bills no one reads.
Reckless debt is not just a financial issue. It is a moral failure. A nation that cannot say no to debt has lost its discipline and integrity.
This goes beyond economics. This is spiritual and generational. Scripture teaches that the borrower is a slave to the lender. That is not only a financial warning. It is a cultural warning. America is becoming a slave to its own government’s reckless spending and to foreign creditors who own our debt. If this continues, we will lose more than money. We will lose freedom.
God did not call us to pass down chains. He called us to pass down blessings, truth, and wisdom. Stewardship is not just a personal responsibility. It is a national duty. Our generation must choose courage over comfort, truth over politics, and future freedom over temporary security.
The shutdown is not the crisis. The real crisis is a Congress that will not stop spending. And it is time for the American people to demand that it ends now.
Financial Issues Stewardship Ministries (FISM) host Mark Minnella brings 35 years of experience helping individuals invest with biblical integrity. He was the founder and president of one of the first investment advisories dedicated to biblically responsible investing principles. A co-founder of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants and creator of the CFCA designation, Mark has been a voice for biblical stewardship through radio, writing, and speaking for over 30 years. He hosted “More Than Money” on Bott Radio Network for 17 years and is the author of “The Wall Street Awakening.” Mark and his wife, Cindy, live in St. Louis, MO, and have three grown children.