Why government shutdowns hit tribes especially hard

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report: "Why government shutdowns hit tribes especially hard"

Date: October 10, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio

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Episode Overview

This episode examines the impact of the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown, with a primary focus on how federal program disruptions disproportionately affect Native American tribal communities. The episode also explores economic hardships in Las Vegas — from declining tourism and convention cancellations to the trickle-down effects on hospitality workers and local real estate. David Brancaccio interviews tribal representatives and a longtime Las Vegas waiter, weaving together personal stories and economic data to illustrate the broad effects of policy and market instability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Government Shutdown & Tribal Communities

(00:01 - 02:12)

• Federal Programs Disrupted:
  Due to the government shutdown, key federal workers are being called back (without pay) to generate economic reports, while other critical services—especially to Indian Country—are stalled.
• Treaty and Trust Responsibilities:
  Services for Native communities are grounded in government obligations, yet these are interrupted when federal funds and programs are frozen.
• Health Service Interruptions:
  Many tribal clinics rely on timely reimbursement for Medicare and telehealth services.
  • Quote (Savannah Peters, paraphrasing Liz Malerba) [00:41]:
    "Telehealth is very important for our elders and especially for ultra rural tribal communities."
• Unequal Tribal Resources:
  Some tribes can 'float' costs themselves hoping for later reimbursement; others must suspend services immediately.
  • Quote (Liz Malerba) [01:05]:
    "The ability to step into the federal government's shoes and actually pay for the services that we are owed varies considerably."
• Standing Contingency Plans:
  Shutdowns are so frequent that tribes have developed policies for these periods, yet the burden is deeply felt.
  • Quote (Matthew Fletcher) [01:24]:
    "The United States is massively failing to fulfill their trust responsibility."
• Ongoing Anxiety:
  Even well-prepared programs are anxious about prolonged disruption.
  • Quote (Mary Greene Trottier) [01:38]:
    "We have enough carryover to get us through for a while, but the fear is there."
• Food Security Threatened:
  If the shutdown continues, vulnerable clients—such as those relying on food distribution in reservations—could go without.

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2. Las Vegas Economy Faltering

(02:12 - 06:57)

• Tourism Down, Tips Down:
  The Las Vegas economy is struggling; workers like Ray Lujan, a fine dining waiter, report steep declines in tips—up to $1,500/month.

  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [02:37]:
    "A couple of days a week, it seems a lot slower. A lot slower."

• Convention Cancellations:
  Major group events are being canceled, especially international conventions. Ray links some cancellations to dissatisfaction with U.S. policies, such as tariffs and rhetoric under the Trump administration.

  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [02:59]:
    "Promoters come in, cancel, just cancel the events...they're upset of Donald Trump's tariffs and the way they're being talked about."

• Immigration Enforcement Ripple Effects:
  Increased deportations are affecting hospitality staff and their families. Personal anecdotes include workers and their families being deported for long-past incidents or technicalities.

  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [03:41]:
    "These are the people that are getting rounded up."
  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [04:37]:
    "But the mom that just had a kid, a guy that's worked here 30 years in the States, I mean, what's going on?"

• Broader Economic Impact:
  Deportations result in properties being abandoned, service jobs lost, and local businesses suffering.

  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [05:02]:
    "If somebody gets swooped up...he just walks away from his property."

• Personal Economic Adjustments:
  Workers are cutting back on discretionary spending, such as travel and family outings.

  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [05:31]:
    "It cuts down on my travel. You know, I'm at an age where, you know, I like to travel."
  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [05:43]:
    "Now I say, well, maybe we get to do one [theme park], instead of all."

• “Secret to Success” in Hospitality:
  Asked for advice, Ray is unequivocal:

  • Quote (Ray Lujan) [06:04]:
    "Don't gamble."

• Las Vegas Real Estate Weakened:
  Host David Brancaccio provides data: home sales down 16% year-over-year; unsold housing inventory up 37%.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|--------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:24 | Matthew Fletcher | "The United States is massively failing to fulfill their trust responsibility." | | 01:38 | Mary Greene Trottier | "We have enough carryover to get us through for a while, but the fear is there." | | 02:37 | Ray Lujan | "A couple of days a week, it seems a lot slower. A lot slower." | | 02:59 | Ray Lujan | "Promoters come in, cancel, just cancel the events...they're upset of Donald Trump's tariffs and the way they're being talked about."| | 03:41 | Ray Lujan | "These are the people that are getting rounded up." | | 04:37 | Ray Lujan | "But the mom that just had a kid, a guy that's worked here 30 years in the States, I mean, what's going on?"| | 05:02 | Ray Lujan | "If somebody gets swooped up...he just walks away from his property." | | 06:04 | Ray Lujan | "Don't gamble." |

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01 – 02:12: Government shutdown’s impact on tribal communities
• 02:12 – 06:57: Las Vegas economic challenges — interviews with Ray Lujan
• 06:26: Real estate statistics for Las Vegas

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Episode Tone

The tone is urgent, empathetic, and pragmatic. The host and guests blend factual reporting with the lived experiences of vulnerable communities and working-class Americans. The conversations are accessible, direct, and often personal, revealing the human cost of high-level policy impasses and broad economic trends.

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Transcript

[A]

It's not just the chips are down, but the tips are down. In Las Vegas, I'm David Brancaccio. First day 10 of the partial government shutdown. Here, there's news some employees told not to show up at the Labor Department are being called back without pay for now so they can do the September inflation report, and that is so that the yearly adjustment in Social Security payments can happen. It's not clear when we'll actually get that. Consumer price index and another shutdown effect federal programs for tribal communities. These are part of the government's treaty and trust responsibility for services in Indian country in exchange for land and resources. Marketplace's Savannah Peters has that.

[B]

Since the shutdown began, Liz Malerba with United south and Eastern Tribes has been fielding calls from tribal clinic directors who are running into roadblocks. Billing Medicare for their patients, telehealth visits. Telehealth is very important for our elders and especially for ultra rural tribal communities. Malerba says some tribes have the resources to float those costs and hope for reimbursement. Others are suspending services. The ability to step into the federal government's shoes and actually pay for the services that we are owed varies considerably. Matthew Fletcher at the University of Michigan School of Law says when tribal leaders have to make those hard choices, the.

[A]

United States is massively failing to fulfill their trust responsibility.

[B]

Fletcher says tribal programs and funding should be insulated from impasses that have become so frequent that tribes have standing contingency plans.

[A]

We have enough carryover to get us through for a while, but the fear is there.

[B]

Mary Greene Trottier runs the food distribution program on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota. The longer this shutdown lingers, the more she worries her clients could have to go without Savannah. I'm Savannah Peters for Marketplace.

[A]

I am just back from Las Vegas, where the economy has faltered this year. As we've been reporting, this has implications for any part of the country that depends on visitors willing and able to spend on experiences that may be fun but not required. Today, the economy through the eyes of Ray Lujan, a native Las Vegas who's been waiting tables for decades and is now seeing his tips down by as much as $1,500 a month.

[C]

I work in a fine dining restaurant, so a couple of days a week, it seems a lot slower. A lot slower. I know my brother is a bellman at one of the top hotels in town and he's seen the traffic just been cut down tremendously as well. So we've been talking about that.

[A]

What are you and Your brother seeing, like, who's not showing up? Who was showing up?

[C]

Well, how do I put this? We have at the hotel that I worked at big Latin conventions, right? Big. Like promoters. Promoters come in, cancel, just cancel the events. We have another event that comes. It's like the Irish, and it's a big. It's a big convention. And the people that show up, you know, they've come back year after year. So you get to know them. You're like, hey, how you doing? And then they're like. I said, what happened to the other guy? Said, no, they're cancelled because they're upset of Donald Trump's tariffs and the way they're being talked about. Right.

[A]

And you also have this crackdown on immigration, so some people feel not as comfortable just getting on the road and crossing state lines.

[C]

I work with a guy that I worked with for over 30 years that was deported. He got picked up at the airport. He had an incident over 25 years ago, right? He got all cleared up through the courts. But I guess there was something at the end, like, didn't make a court appearance, didn't. Probation was some little part of it. It got deported back to Mexico. I have another busboy that I work with, his wife, he's a citizen, but his wife from Mexico, she had a baby here, and then I guess she went in to go get checked or something, and they swooped her up and deported her back. So he had to leave for four months and leave the restaurant for four months, pay his rent here in town and go back to Mexico, get her all set up, you know, to make sure she was healthy, make sure everything's okay. And these are the people that are getting rounded up.

[A]

He says he has no problem with a criminal who is not a citizen getting deported after prison time.

[C]

That's what happens. That's the guy you're supposed to be sending back, right? Those are the people. Hey, listen, I'm all for it, right? But the mom that just had a kid, a guy that's worked here 30 years in the States, I mean, what's going on?

[A]

These are very intense personal stories about families. Do you think that immigration crackdown is affecting the wider economy here in Las Vegas?

[C]

I have a lot of friends in the real estate. And what happens if somebody gets swooped up? He just walks away from his property? He just walks right away from it, Right? He's not going to pay rent on it. Or if he gets swooped up, maybe he's a lawn maintenance guy, maybe he's a dishwasher in a restaurant or something, not a criminal paying his bills. So that affects the economy.

[A]

What about you? If there's fewer people coming in, fewer tips, do you have to. Are there some things you can't buy that you might have bought?

[C]

It cuts down on my travel. You know, I'm at an age where, you know, I like to travel. Right.

[A]

And so your discretionary income. Right. You have to make the decision that other people make to come to Vegas. Maybe you want to go somewhere else.

[C]

Yes, exactly. Exactly. Or you want to. You want to take the kids to Disneyland. Right. Used to take the kids to Disneyland every year, you know, and now you have to say, well, I took him to Disneyland, I took him to Legoland, I took him to Universal Studios. And now I say, well, maybe we get to do one.

[A]

So what's the secret to success in your line of work?

[C]

Don't gamble.

[A]

I'm on your side on that. No, you don't drift over to the machines.

[C]

No. I mean, if somebody comes into town. If somebody comes into town. Right. I will go and, you know, take them around a little bit and I'll play a poker machine. But no, that's just not something that. That I. That I do. Yeah.

[A]

Ray Lujan, a longtime waiter and a proud member of the Culinary workers Union Local 2 to 6 in Las Vegas. Vay also sells real estate, another Las Vegas sector that, frankly, is weakening. Home sales are down 16% compared to a year earlier, and the number of houses for sale without offers is up 37% in a year. All of my reports from Las Vegas are streamable for Marketplace online shortly. I'm David Brancaccio from APM American Public Media.

[D]

This week on Million Bazillion, Ryan and I are off to a sleepaway camp for podcasters, where we meet up with some other podcast friends for a very special episode about animals and money. Together, we're going to tackle some very important questions, like what animal should be in charge of the economy?

[C]

Well, like I said, there's plenty of crossover between the animal kingdom and your world of money.

[D]

Don't miss this special episode. Listen to Million Bazillion on your favorite podcast.

[C]

Apparently.