Michael Cohen - The Last Paycheck in America
So here we are again — day 27 of the government shutdown — and everything in Washington stinks of extortion. The Republican hardliners aren’t negotiating; they’re holding the country hostage. Their “clean” continuing resolution would gut healthcare for more than 40 million Americans. Translation: they’d rather make the poor sicker than admit they’ve lost control.
This shutdown isn’t an accident; it’s a weapon. Federal workers are furloughed, contractors are unpaid, and community clinics are collapsing. The Trump administration calls it “fiscal discipline.” I call it cruelty with a spreadsheet.
But while Washington grinds to a halt, another crisis is accelerating in the private sector. It’s quieter, slicker, and far more permanent. As the government shuts down the paychecks, corporate America is shutting down the jobs.
Across every industry, the pink slips are flying. Amazon just axed 14,000 corporate workers — 4% of its workforce — while pouring billions into artificial intelligence. Microsoft followed with 15,000 layoffs in what it called “organizational changes,” even as it spends record amounts on AI infrastructure. Intel, desperate to keep up with Nvidia and AMD, cut nearly 25,000 jobs this year alone. UPS has slashed 34,000 workers and shuttered nearly a hundred facilities. Target is eliminating 1,800 corporate positions, blaming “too many layers.” Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide to offset rising tariffs and commodity costs. Novo Nordisk — riding high off Ozempic profits — is shedding 9,000. Procter & Gamble is cutting 7,000, citing Trump’s tariffs. ConocoPhillips is laying off up to a quarter of its workforce. Even Lufthansa is cutting thousands of administrative jobs in the name of “digital transformation.”
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