We’re now two weeks into the 2025 government shutdown, and the impacts are rippling through every corner of our lives.
For us, we’re seeing delayed projects, uncertain travel plans, and we’re watching healthcare for millions hang in the balance.
While much the government is shut down, we’re still watching the ICE facility continue to operate, and the federal government spending a lot of effort trying to bring in troops from out-of-state. At the same time, our own condo building sits in limbo waiting for furloughed FAA workers to approve and supervise a critical repair.
But first, let me address the elephant, or rather, the frogs, in the room.
The real story in Portland
By now, many of you have likely seen the TikTok video of ICE agents attempting to pepper spray a person wearing an inflatable frog costume. It’s absurd, it’s surreal, and it perfectly captures the disconnect between the narrative and reality here in Portland. Our community continues to protest the actions of ICE. We also reject the false portrayal of these protests as violent.
On Thursday night, a friend and I took an evening walk to the ICE facility, just three miles south of our condo building. Here we are with those famous frog people.
The frogs were joined by a polar bear, a raccoon, and a shark. They were all dancing to music outside the facility. It was more street festival than confrontation.
Of course, that didn’t top ice from making threatening announcements over their loudspeakers.
I was humored by the ICE agents’ periodic emergence to face the crowd.
They would then retreat again without incident.
This has become a nightly ritual. Protesters show up consistently and peacefully. The response remains disproportionately aggressive.
Peace March on Sunday
I returned to the site today to participate in another small peace march. What struck me most was the sheer ordinariness of it all. No radical organizations. No professionally printed signs. Just regular people who felt compelled to show up.
After some brief speeches, we took to the streets:
My favorite sign captured the moment perfectly: “Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”
It’s an apt description of what we’re witnessing right now.
Instead of someone carrying a portable speaker like the last time I was there, we had a brass band marching with us. Fellow protesters danced along to the music. It was a joyful expression of dissent and was about as non-threatening as you can imagine.
While the Trump administration would like to justify the expense and showmanship of putting federal troops here to Portland, doing so would not only be a violation of the law, it would be a tremendous waste of resources.
Delayed project: Helicopter grounded
Now onto the shutdown. This shutdown has real, measurable costs that are hitting us directly.
This Tuesday (October 14th), our condo building was scheduled for a helicopter lift to install new HVAC equipment on our rooftop. With the shutdown, the FAA teams responsible for final approvals and on-site supervision have been furloughed. Our $37 million HVAC replacement project is now at risk.
This wasn’t some hastily planned operation. We’ve spent years preparing for this tight six-month window between October and April. The timing was critical. We live in a 28-story glass tower that functions as a massive solar collector. Many units, including our own, become uninhabitable in summer without HVAC.
For winter, we have fireplaces and temporary electric heaters. However, there’s no comparable solution for cooling in the summer.
We’re replacing a defective system, and the schedule was carefully calibrated. Our team is now scrambling to reorder project phases to minimize delays. We built contingency funding into our capital budget for unexpected events, but we never anticipated signing contracts in early 2025 only to face an indefinite government shutdown.
We recovered much of the cost for this HVAC replacement project from responsible parties. However, that is done. here’s a part of me that wants to sue Congress for the shutdown-related costs.
This is just a small example hitting us personally. I can only imagine how many other projects across America are facing similar delays. What is the economic ripple effect of this shutdown?
An unforeseen roadtrip
The shutdown forced us to rethink smaller personal plans too.
As some of you know, I participate as a cognitively normal subject in a long-term observational study on dementia. Every two years, I undergo an MRI, beta-amyloid scan, lumbar puncture, and cognitive testing. Marsha gets interviewed about my ability to recall recent shared experiences. We were scheduled for our Bay Area appointment and planned to fly down.
Then came news of impending airline delays. Add to that the Trump administration’s illegal posturing that they won’t provide back-pay to essential workers, and we decided flying might not be the most predictable option for travel.
So we pivoted, and we turned this into a short road trip. We have a new Toyota RAV-4 plug-in hybrid, so we decided to give it a go. This change also allows us to transport some fragile vintage records we’re giving to a friend.
Still, both Marsha and I hate driving, so we’re half-blaming Congress for even introducing this uncertainty into our lives.
Healthcare
Despite the real costs and inconvenience we’re facing, I support the position Democratic senators are taking.
As I detailed in my Substack post last year on healthcare, Marsha and I purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Our 2025 premiums for a high-deductible HSA plan for the two of us are $1,500 per month. Our 2026 premiums will be over $1,700 per month.
I’m not complaining for us personally. With my pre-existing conditions, I’m grateful we can access health insurance at all, and we don’t apply for tax credits given our financial situation. At the same time, I recognize this level of cost would be completely unaffordable for most Americans.
I understand why even Marjorie Taylor Greene is complaining that her adult children can no longer be covered on her plan.
The numbers are stark. According to the nonpartisan healthcare research group KFF, without premium tax credits, recipients would see premiums jump from an average of $888 this year to $1,906 in 2026—a 114% increase.
I buy many conservative arguments that these tax credits perpetuate a broken system. Our healthcare costs are double those of other developed nations, with worse outcomes. But simply allowing the tax credits to expire without structural reforms is reckless.
I oppose much of what’s in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA): cuts to SNAP benefits, removal of clean energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, increased ICE funding, and tax cuts for the wealthy. There was more to object to than just healthcare. But I understand why Democrats chose healthcare as their single bargaining issue.
It’s the one issue where Americans overwhelmingly agree.
Not Democrats vs. Republicans
Over three-quarters of Americans believe we should extend these tax credits. That includes 59% of Republicans and 57% of MAGA supporters.
When you have that level of consensus across party lines and across ideological divides, the path forward is clear.
Congress, do the deal. Projects like our $37M HVAC replacement project are being stalled by this shutdown. Families are losing healthcare access. We’re improvising road trips because we can’t trust our own transportation infrastructure. And we’re watching resources go into ICE and federalizing troops where they’re not wanted or needed.
On my end, I am responding to this shutdown by directing my energy toward calling my legislators, attending town halls, participating in peaceful protests, and trying to spread the word on this Substack.
Please join me in voicing our opinions! Again, this isn’t Democrats versus Republicans. It’s getting our country to work right.
What’s your shutdown story? How has this impacted your life?
