How's the partial federal government shutdown affecting you?

[skyblue17]

My focus is solely on how Americans (federal workers included) can do a much better job of managing their finances.

It appears that I am the only one who can separate out that point from the very emotional and personal nature of the shutdown.

I think the fact that you're receiving little to no support on your views in both this thread and the other thread you made in hopes of being validated for the pushback in this thread says more about you than you're willing to consider. And yet you carry on with your mission!

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Delete

 

[Skellingtonj]

I just found the post that everyone is referring to. I have that guy on ignore for a reason. It doesn’t surprise me that they made those comments. I have not been affected by the shutdown, thankfully. To those of you in the real world dealing with it, i hope it passes quickly. I have nothing nice to say to the poster who is better then all of you so I’ll move on

 

[mumto3girls]

kdonnel - I don't disagree with you. I think a lot of people, both in the public and private sector could do a better job building a safety net that is less reliant on events they have no control over. But recognize that there are some of us here in the government employee world who have less because we work for the government. When I entered government service over 20 years ago, I took a substantial pay cut. I was then moved across the country, requiring my wife to quit her job, which limited our income even further. I can make a lot more money if/when I leave the government. Our pay raises since 2011 total around 6% while the CPI has risen something like 16%. That will only get worse with the 0% raise we are getting in 2019. Even though I've had two promotions, because of the increased costs of things like health care, my take home pay is virtually identical to what it was in 2011. I wish I had more in the bank. I should have more in the bank. But I don't. I have two kids in college. I drive a car that is paid off and over 100k miles. Every suit I own has a hole in it somewhere. We own one TV and discontinued our landline. We work out in our unfinished basement watching videos on the internet so we dont have to pay a gym membership. In short, we are trying to live within our means. At the same time, every morning I put my gun on my belt, get in my car with my bulletproof vest, medic bag, and crime scene kit to go to work. I'm careful to always say something nice to my family in case that day is the day I don't make it home. Last year I attended the funerals of multiple coworkers killed in the line of duty. Right now things really suck for us. The people who used to remind me "I pay your salary" have suddenly dissapeared. We will get through this. We don't need a hug, a "thank you", or a landlord to let us paint in lieu of rent. We just want to be paid for the work we've done. Another thing we don't need right now - a lecture on financial responsibility. My household has a budget, please direct your lecture to the folks representing you in DC who don't.

Well said and thank you for the work you do.

 

[soccerdad72]

Interesting story (and graphic) - a website, WalletHub, ranked the states by how much they're feeling the effects of the shutdown:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/government-shutdown-hitting-u-s-states-hardest-124420047.html

 

[MrsPete]

Here's what I think:

The politicians who are responsible for the shut-down were elected to take care of the American people's needs.

Since they cannot manage to keep the government "open", they are incompetent. They should be allowed to shut down the government, but every last person who was responsible should be replaced /should be ineligible for re-election. Every. Last. One. These people have NO accountability.

 

[wvjules]

Here's what I think:

The politicians who are responsible for the shut-down were elected to take care of the American people's needs.

Since they cannot manage to keep the government "open", they are incompetent. They should be allowed to shut down the government, but every last person who was responsible should be replaced /should be ineligible for re-election. Every. Last. One. These people have NO accountability.

And who will determine who is "responsible"?

 

[Kaleidodad]

Here's what I think:

The politicians who are responsible for the shut-down were elected to take care of the American people's needs.

Since they cannot manage to keep the government "open", they are incompetent. They should be allowed to shut down the government, but every last person who was responsible should be replaced /should be ineligible for re-election. Every. Last. One. These people have NO accountability.

Better yet, let's just make all federal politicians ineligible for reelection. Single-term limits for all!

 

[cabanafrau]

Here's what I think:

The politicians who are responsible for the shut-down were elected to take care of the American people's needs.

Since they cannot manage to keep the government "open", they are incompetent. They should be allowed to shut down the government, but every last person who was responsible should be replaced /should be ineligible for re-election. Every. Last. One. These people have NO accountability.

Seems like a very black and white, direct way to get people back to task. Then I think about the things it's probably a good idea to have at least some seasoned, experienced folks around to keep their oar in on -- national security matters possibly or the like, where it might not be advantageous to have only the voices of greenhorns experiencing a learning curve discussing and making decisions of that magnitude. Actual experience dealing with lobbyists and special interests bears some consideration as well.

It's easy to simply sit back, comfortably armchair quarterbacking politicians (doesn't matter what stripe) and just disparage them for being a politician. It's pretty hard to have a republic without them at the end of the day.

 

[bcla]

Interesting story (and graphic) - a website, WalletHub, ranked the states by how much they're feeling the effects of the shutdown:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/government-shutdown-hitting-u-s-states-hardest-124420047.html

Not sure how accurate that is. Their criteria seems to include federal workers, and apparently only 25% of the federal government is subject to the shutdown since the rest are covered by appropriations that have already been approved. For instance, the article cites the large presence of military bases in Alaska and Hawaii, even though the Dept of Defense isn't one of the affected departments.

Now New Mexico I understand given how many people there are employed by the Dept of Energy.

 

[mnrose]

I wonder why it is we have to keep sending our tax dollars to Washington? If the government is "shut down" (regardless of reason), all elected officials (and their respective political appointees) should stop receiving pay for the duration and NO back pay for them under any circumstances. And, we all receive a "credit" on our taxes for the time period the government is shut down. Shut down for 1/26th of the year...automatic refund of 1/26th of your income taxes. Maybe that would inspire them to get off their rears and resolve this.

 

[luvsJack]

Not sure how accurate that is. Their criteria seems to include federal workers, and apparently only 25% of the federal government is subject to the shutdown since the rest are covered by appropriations that have already been approved. For instance, the article cites the large presence of military bases in Alaska and Hawaii, even though the Dept of Defense isn't one of the affected departments.

Now New Mexico I understand given how many people there are employed by the Dept of Energy.

I would guess that a least Hawaii has a lot of Coast Guard. They aren't being paid right now or they weren't, I quit listening to the news.

Also, military bases have civilians working on them who are employed by contract companies many of whom are not working.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

And, we all receive a "credit" on our taxes for the time period the government is shut down. Shut down for 1/26th of the year...automatic refund of 1/26th of your income taxes. Maybe that would inspire them to get off their rears and resolve this.

I could see that creating a negative domino effect. The sole reason why some things aren't affected is because they already have their budgets passed. Do I like paying taxes in this situation? No but the flip side is not paying taxes, or in this case getting a refund/credit for the portion of the time the government is shut down, means that it's just shortchanging the whole system. That wouldn't fix the situation. It just makes someone feel better.

 

[Allison]

It appears that I am the only one who can separate out that point from the very emotional and personal nature of the shutdown.

No. That isn't it. That isn't it at all.

 

[kamik86]

I work for a contractor and how affected we are by each shutdown seems to vary greatly. Some impacted a lot of our customers and pushed schedules but this one, due to timing for the first two weeks it was impossible to tell. Most of the government employees I work with are off most of Christmas and new years week anyway so it made no difference. I can tell you nearly everyone was back in the office yesterday for our normal Monday status meeting.

For my company directly most of our contracts are funded for a certain time. So unless a contract happened to end they wouldn't be affected and either the company would step in ad cover it with a promise from the gov to pay after the shutdown or they would move workers to other funded projects.

To be honest with the finances I wouldn't expect anyone to stay in a job that repeatedly shuts down and isn't able to pay them. Even if they later give back pay. I mean if this was a private company we would all advise them to find another job because it seems like the writing is on the wall.

I could financially go a few weeks without my paycheck but you can bet if my company sent me home without pay I would be using those few weeks to look for another job.

 

[bcla]

I would guess that a least Hawaii has a lot of Coast Guard. They aren't being paid right now or they weren't, I quit listening to the news.

Also, military bases have civilians working on them who are employed by contract companies many of whom are not working.

My understanding is that military contracts are unaffected. I guess they could be affected if they're not specifically funded by DoD such as service contracts for companies that serve multiple cabinet departments.

https://www.defenseone.com/business/2019/01/shutdown-contractors/153985/

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I absolutely believe that when there is a shutdown ALL Congress politicians involved should also have their pay stopped with no back pay. Also I am blown away and confused by people who are required to go to work without pay. Are they guaranteed back pay? Didn't we end slavery.

 

[cinnaminny]

I work for a contractor and how affected we are by each shutdown seems to vary greatly. Some impacted a lot of our customers and pushed schedules but this one, due to timing for the first two weeks it was impossible to tell. Most of the government employees I work with are off most of Christmas and new years week anyway so it made no difference. I can tell you nearly everyone was back in the office yesterday for our normal Monday status meeting.

For my company directly most of our contracts are funded for a certain time. So unless a contract happened to end they wouldn't be affected and either the company would step in ad cover it with a promise from the gov to pay after the shutdown or they would move workers to other funded projects.

To be honest with the finances I wouldn't expect anyone to stay in a job that repeatedly shuts down and isn't able to pay them. Even if they later give back pay. I mean if this was a private company we would all advise them to find another job because it seems like the writing is on the wall.

I could financially go a few weeks without my paycheck but you can bet if my company sent me home without pay I would be using those few weeks to look for another job.

Before this current administration it really didn't shut down all that much. Once in 2013. Once during the Clinton admin. Three times under the current.

 

[bcla]

I absolutely believe that when there is a shutdown ALL Congress politicians involved should also have their pay stopped with no back pay. Also I am blown away and confused by people who are required to go to work without pay. Are they guaranteed back pay? Didn't we end slavery.

Not specifically guaranteed, but I heard that after previous shutdowns ended, the appropriations always included back pay. So Congress theoretically doesn't have to, but they always have.

 

[Searc]

I would guess that a least Hawaii has a lot of Coast Guard. They aren't being paid right now or they weren't, I quit listening to the news.

Also, military bases have civilians working on them who are employed by contract companies many of whom are not working.

Coast Guard is not being paid.