When those crying “class war” start deciding who gets healthcare and who gets to eat, it’s not rhetoric anymore—it’s strategy.

Accusations and confessions

Conservative lawmakers have framed the current government shutdown as resistance to “socialist spending” and a defense of fiscal responsibility. Yet the stalemate centers on basic survival programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. As critics point out, the same voices denouncing “class warfare” are engineering a direct confrontation between the country’s working poor and middle class.

Gallego calls out the false choice

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said on Thursday that the standoff “forces Americans to choose between feeding their families and affording healthcare,” calling it a manufactured crisis designed to fracture solidarity among working people. “This isn’t about saving money,” Gallego said. “It’s about keeping people divided.”

Source: Instagram

Manufacturing division

Analysts note that SNAP and ACA subsidies are two of the most efficient anti-poverty tools in the federal budget—benefiting overlapping populations. Cutting one to fund the other, economists say, would not reduce spending so much as redistribute scarcity. The result: a headline-ready conflict between “taxpayers” and “dependents,” when in reality both groups largely consist of the same people.

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Every accusation a confession

For months, Republican leaders have warned of an impending “class war” from the left. But the shutdown’s mechanics reveal the opposite: a top-down assault on shared interests, disguised as fiscal virtue. The choice to hold essential programs hostage while continuing defense spending and corporate tax breaks underscores who the conflict truly protects.

Broader implications

The timing amplifies the sense of dissonance. With millions of federal workers furloughed and safety-net programs at risk, the administration continues to insist it is defending the “average American.” Meanwhile, food banks report surging demand and healthcare marketplaces brace for subsidy lapses if the impasse continues.

The loudest critics of class war are waging one—and their target isn’t the wealthy, but everyone else.