Shutdown Length
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I do appreciate your struggles. I hope that you guys are getting by without too much financial pain. Have you applied for unemployment benefits? And have you considered looking for temporary work or just another job during the shutdown?
The shutdown has affected our business as well, both at my store and Karla’s business. A fair number of her clients are Federal workers or subs.
While I empathize with your personal situation, the plight of all of your coworkers and friends hits me on the same “what a shame” level as reading about mass layoffs in many industries. Remember when I posted about the glass factory my dad used to work at shut down? That was the largest employer in the region. Recently, the second largest employer in the region also shutdown (Fourth Street Foods) but that’s actually a good thing, IMO, because that’s the company that was importing and keeping all of those Haitians in an indentured servitude system. On a national level, we typically see 70K-80K layoffs every month. Each and every single one of those are a shame and a crisis on an individual level. I see no reason to carry more moral outrage and contempt for the federal government and the current shutdown than I do those employers and organizations that laid off those 70K employees.
And yes, I know that these employees will still get back pay when the shutdown ends and it’s tax dollars waisted. But personally, I don’t see much difference between that waste and the waste of actually paying them for working. Since I feel that much of the Federal Government’s work is well beyond it’s scope and ultimately has negative repercussions despite their intentions, I’d rather have that money wasted paying them not to work… But I have a small hope that people around the United States living in areas where Federal Government’s is not the top employer will take a look at how little the shutdown has affected their personal lives and consider whether a smaller and less intrusive government might not be a better idea.
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I do appreciate your struggles. I hope that you guys are getting by without too much financial pain. Have you applied for unemployment benefits? And have you considered looking for temporary work or just another job during the shutdown?
The shutdown has affected our business as well, both at my store and Karla’s business. A fair number of her clients are Federal workers or subs.
While I empathize with your personal situation, the plight of all of your coworkers and friends hits me on the same “what a shame” level as reading about mass layoffs in many industries. Remember when I posted about the glass factory my dad used to work at shut down? That was the largest employer in the region. Recently, the second largest employer in the region also shutdown (Fourth Street Foods) but that’s actually a good thing, IMO, because that’s the company that was importing and keeping all of those Haitians in an indentured servitude system. On a national level, we typically see 70K-80K layoffs every month. Each and every single one of those are a shame and a crisis on an individual level. I see no reason to carry more moral outrage and contempt for the federal government and the current shutdown than I do those employers and organizations that laid off those 70K employees.
And yes, I know that these employees will still get back pay when the shutdown ends and it’s tax dollars waisted. But personally, I don’t see much difference between that waste and the waste of actually paying them for working. Since I feel that much of the Federal Government’s work is well beyond it’s scope and ultimately has negative repercussions despite their intentions, I’d rather have that money wasted paying them not to work… But I have a small hope that people around the United States living in areas where Federal Government’s is not the top employer will take a look at how little the shutdown has affected their personal lives and consider whether a smaller and less intrusive government might not be a better idea.
@LuFins-Dad said in Shutdown Length:
I do appreciate your struggles. I hope that you guys are getting by without too much financial pain. Have you applied for unemployment benefits? And have you considered looking for temporary work or just another job during the shutdown?
Thanks - it hasn't been painful, I've been able to get a number of projects done around the house. Can't file for unemployment because I am employed and the "unable to work and bill hours for it" is a pure policy issue, our contract is funded for multiple years already. This week there have been "critical cybersecurity bugs" identified that we have been allowed to work on, so I'm once again working a bit...all good.
And yes, I know that these employees will still get back pay when the shutdown ends and it’s tax dollars waisted. But personally, I don’t see much difference between that waste and the waste of actually paying them for working. Since I feel that much of the Federal Government’s work is well beyond it’s scope and ultimately has negative repercussions despite their intentions, I’d rather have that money wasted paying them not to work…
In specific cases yes, but your paint brush is so extremely broad that I don't think we'll agree on that. Although as I said with DOGE, if there was a way to require a 5 or 10% decrease in workforce each year until agencies started really seeing pain points, I'd be ok with that. There is certainly fat to cut.
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Now that you have some of the essential employees missing paychecks, I expect this to be resolved soon.
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The democrats are doomed... it's hard to be the party of excessive sympathy and not give in when you see paychecks and SNAP benefits expire. I've never read Trumps "Art of the Deal" but I'm pretty sure his only strategy is to bully others, use money and power to fabricate reality, then "come to a deal" that is far closer to his side than in the middle.
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Neville Chamberlain wanted to give in to Hitler. Now is the time to FIGHT, not to surrender.
(Channeling Bluesky.)
@Horace said in Shutdown Length:
Neville Chamberlain wanted to give in to Hitler.
Actually, Neville Chamberlain declared war on Hitler.
Hitler did use spray tan, though.
I was only joking
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@Horace said in Shutdown Length:
Neville Chamberlain wanted to give in to Hitler.
Actually, Neville Chamberlain declared war on Hitler.
Hitler did use spray tan, though.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Shutdown Length:
@Horace said in Shutdown Length:
Neville Chamberlain wanted to give in to Hitler.
Actually, Neville Chamberlain declared war on Hitler
Oh. I thought he was used as a universal cautionary tale against appeasement of bad guys. But in a dunkaholics anonymous meeting, he’s the guy who declared war on the bad guys
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No, but the Thanksgiving and Christmas family visits will be... a lot spicier when Uncle Jolly starts to rant.
@89th said in Shutdown Length:
No, but the Thanksgiving and Christmas family visits will be... a lot spicier when Uncle Jolly starts to rant.
Uncle Jolly can’t fly in without Air Traffic Controllers.
