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Bearing in mind that ~40% of american's could not come up with $400 to cover emergencies, this is going to become more prevalent in the next few days / weeks as

Bearing in mind that ~40% of american's could not come up with $400 to cover emergencies, this is going to become more prevalent in the next few days / weeks as people will simply not be able to afford gas to get to their unpaid work. I read an article today discussing how TSA workers in HI are living in their cars in the airport parking lot as they cannot afford to commute. The FBI just cancelled its internship program due to the shutdown. An administration official recommended that all those affected simply take out loans but unfortunately banks don't lend to people without an income nor to those who have recent delinquencies on their credit due to no income. I feel very bad for these real people being affected by political showmanship.

mr337 8y ago
Some banks are setting up low interest loan programs only for federal employees. They are low interest and are focused on amounts of 2-3 time your paycheck. Granted the rate things are going that might not be enough.
- Spartan-S63 8y ago
  Not to mention that low interest loans are sort of predatory in this context, despite being lower than market rate interest rates. I understand that they have a profit a motive, but it doesn't make them the "good guys" in this scenario. There really are no good guys during a government shutdown.
  - thenipper 8y ago
    Seriously, I'd imagine most of the people impacted who need the loans don't necessarily have the income to cover an extra loan payment when this is over.
  - dwighttk 8y ago
    kinda depends on the interest rate... look at it as an insurance for the bank against some of the people defaulting on the loans and it isn't predatory.
  - excalibur 8y ago
    > There really are no good guys during a government shutdown. The Canadian air traffic controllers who sent a bunch of pizzas to their American counterparts were pretty good. Also I would argue that people who keep reporting for work when they aren't getting paid and doing their job to the best of their ability aren't too shabby either, no matter what the pundits say about how prepared they should have been.
  - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
    First two results returned by searching for "federal shutdown loan" show 0% interest loans: https://www.navyfederal.org/about/government-shutdown.php https://www.navyfederal.org/about/government-shutdown.php https://www.interiorfcu.org/resources/government-shutdown/ https://www.interiorfcu.org/resources/government-shutdown/ I don't see how is it predatory. Considering that it costs bank about 2% to borrow money this is borderline charity.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      Those are credit unions aimed at federal employees. Which means that a large chunk of their ownership is people affected by the shutdown. That’s not charity so much as helping themselves. Which is still great, obviously, but I wonder how it is for affected people who don’t belong to federal employee credit unions.
      - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
        Chase and Citi have similar programs as well: https://online.citi.com/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=USGovShutdown&JFP_TOKEN=P9ZONSKP https://online.citi.com/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=USGovShutdown... https://media.chase.com/news/chase-assists-federal-employees-affected-by-government-shutdown https://media.chase.com/news/chase-assists-federal-employees... It's one of those cases when every dime in interest will cost you a dollar in reputation.
  - Consultant32452 8y ago
    Several banks are offering zero percent interest loans. Cheap advertising perhaps, but not predatory loans. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/here-are-the-banks-and-credit-unions-helping-federal-workers-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/here-are-the-banks-and-credi...
  - yardie 8y ago
    One of the "no good guys" is used to not paying employees. So there is no good and worse guys.
- notus 8y ago
  This feels like disaster capitalism. They are inflating their image by saving the day when it is a responsibility of the state to ensure this doesn't happen and to not use shutdowns as a negotiation tactic. If anything they are just prolonging people getting angry enough to do something about it.
  - SamReidHughes 8y ago
    If not agreeing to a deal can't be used as a negotiating tactic, what can be?
sremani 8y ago
If you got to any bank website at least the ones I bank with, there is a flashing notice on the front page, if I were a federal worker who needs assistance due to shut down. I am sure, certain workers have easy ways than others but to say that at least some banks have not stepped up is incorrect.
- wonderwonder 8y ago
  Just checked my bank website, you are right. Site does not go into specifics as to what the assistance is but optimally it is a bridge loan that can get implemented quickly. These workers are still going to get hammered by late payments etc. and potential evictions but it is good to know at least something is being done.
- brianwawok 8y ago
  Many are offering loans of 10%+ APR. That is helpful, but maybe not a great situation for many people that have no savings to need the loan.
  - sv123 8y ago
    Think of the boost to the economy we will get once these banks report their next quarter earnings! /s, hopefully obvious
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    10%+ feels exploitative and predatory. The current fed interest rate is 2.5% - 4x above that is "let's profit on the unfortunate".
    - posterboy 8y ago
      If it's short term, you end up paying less than 10% on it. If!
      - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        That's true, but the only way you'll be able to pay is if once things are rolling again you have that much extra cash. I don't know how tight people live.
tibbon 8y ago
I've seen too many people say, "Oh, government workers should all know this stuff happens all the time, and if they don't have months or years of savings in the bank then it's just their fault". It's really sad that instead of being compassionate, too many are focusing on what "should" be instead of what is the reality for many people. Like you point out, the reality is that most people don't have savings. They should in theory; but life rarely lines up with should. I too feel terrible for people being hurt by these comparatively wealthy politicians playing games with their livelihood.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  It's really sad that instead of being compassionate I think it's city-to-city. Some cities are just grumpy toward people who experience misfortune. Others are not. In one city I was in recently, the churches organized a round-robin nightly banquet for furloughed federal workers so they can get a good meal, and household supplies, and help with their basic bills each night. In Las Vegas, the city is putting on a big picnic in the main park this weekend for federal workers with free food, supplies, and support services. When I paid bills online this past weekend, almost every bank and utility web site I went to had a banner across the top reading "Affected by the federal shutdown? Let us know so we can help." I haven't seen this everywhere, though. It depends on the type of city in which they live.
- creaghpatr 8y ago
  It's the same way for families who live in border communities. Only the problem doesn't immediately evaporate when the government reopens. Federal workers will likely be backpaid, but a victim of illegal immigrant-perpetrated murders or sexual assualt can never be repaid.
- flyingpenguin 8y ago
  The thing that really bothers me about that "They should have savings" logic, is the expectation that they should have to use them. Yes. They should have savings. EVERYONE should have min 3 months of income in savings. No one should be expected to use it.
  - 8y ago
tvanantwerp 8y ago
In DC, I've seen lots of banks and credit unions offering 0% loans to furloughed Feds.
cr1895 8y ago
>An administration official recommended that all those affected simply take out loans but unfortunately banks don't lend to people without an income I think bills have been passed already guaranteeing back pay for federal employees, so it's a bit more complicated than "no income" for federal employees. However, everyone else who is a contractor or otherwise tangentially dependent on government employment... And of course getting back pay at some unknown future date doesn't put food on the table now or keep you from losing your house or car.
- metamet 8y ago
  Well, to add a bit more context to it, the administration dismissed the issue, saying that people should just work with grocery stores and banks in order to survive. Full text: > Local people know who they are when they go for groceries and everything else. So I think what Wilbur was probably trying to say was that they will work along — I know banks are working along. If you have mortgages, the mortgagees, the folks collecting the interest and all of those things, they work along. And that's what happens in a time like this, they know the people, they've been dealing with them for years, and they work along. The grocery stores...and I think that's probably what Wilbur Ross meant.
  - zentiggr 8y ago
    So... mortgage holders are just going to say "oh, you're on furlough... ok, we'll hold your payment schedule and just rewrite the terms once you have pay again." WTF is the disconnect here? Defaults are going to spike and I can't imagine that any significant percentage of them would be forgiven. And I haven't seen a grocery store run 'personal credit' since maybe before the 50s at best? Pre-Depression? Somebody is breathing that Washington nitrous oxide again.
    - cr1895 8y ago
      >And I haven't seen a grocery store run 'personal credit' since maybe before the 50s at best? Pre-Depression? The ridiculous out-of-touch callousness of it all aside, I remember my parents having credit at a small neighborhood grocery in the 90s-00s. It's not necessarily a relic of the 50s.
trhway 8y ago
>An administration official recommended that all those affected simply take out loans that official is the billionaire Wilbur Ross. A historic precedent comes to mind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake .
naval-gazer 8y ago
In many states FBI has run out of replacement tires for vehicles, DNA swab kits, trace evidence filters. FBI can't pay for translator services, etc. They can't pay for informants.
- module0000 8y ago
  >> They can't pay for informants. This probably isn't the place, but I don't want them paying for informants. There is no vote I can cast to stop this practice. Effectively, I have no choice but to have the money I work hard for taxed and used in this fashion.
  - naval-gazer 8y ago
    Paying for informants is one of the most efficient uses of government money. It's not a large sum.
- pjc50 8y ago
  Fortunately they managed to find volunteers to arrest Roger Stone, which may have been a factor in ending the shutdown..
howlingfantods 8y ago
On one hand, I understand Ross’ reasoning. If my company were to go to a bank with a federal guarantee, we’d get a very cheap loan. On the other hand, he thinks an average individual’s response to missing paychecks should be to seek a low interest loan against a government guarantee. That’s comically out of touch. I’ve been working in finance my entire life and I’d have a tough time working through the loan application process. That’s the type of advice you’d hear a private wealth manager give to his wealthy client. Wealthy people are often asset rich but cash poor so they’ll take out bank loans to finance short term cash flow needs. No doubt Wilbur Ross has availed himself to these services and is shocked that government employees haven’t taken advantage of such conveniences.
- evil-olive 8y ago
  Reminds me of Mitt Romney's comments in 2012 about borrowing money from your parents: > “We’ve always encouraged young people, take — take a shot, go for it. Take a risk. Get the education. Borrow money, if you have to, from your parents. Start a business.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-to-college-students-pursue-your-dreams-even-if-you-have-to-borrow-to-do-so/2012/04/27/gIQAFGM8lT_blog.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romn...
  - newyankee 8y ago
    After being in the US for so many years now, earlier i used to feel such comments were blatant lies that obviously people with their own agendas do. However now i feel that some people really live in such a bubble that they do not have a basic understanding of the society they are living in and what 'average', 'above average','middle class' etc. means
    - cr1895 8y ago
      It's one banana, Michael, what could it cost? Ten dollars?
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
      We all live in bubbles, it's the nature of our existence because we have limited capacity for understanding experiences outside of our own.
tossaccount123 8y ago
There's multiple organizations offering 0% interest loans because the backpay is guaranteed by the US federal government. Not ideal but there really shouldn't be any government workers worried about paying their bills
base698 8y ago
That may be true but a lot of ATC workers do better than grunt software engineers. Five year experience can make $180K+. It's hard to imagine not having savings if you make that much. It's possible of course just harder than the general population.
samstave 8y ago
Serious questions I have: * Are senators/house reps being paid? If so - Why? * If the government is going to shit on people like this - then why are those people required to pay a tax (which is money extracted from the population to pay for services which the government provides - if the government refuses to provide those services, then why would you be obligated to pay a tax - thus the shutdown should be filed as an exemption during tax season) * How in the fucking world is it that someone can "shutdown" the government in the first place?? * If you had a CEO who was embroiled in this much scandal - wouldn't you question "So, what is it you'd say you actually do around here?"[0] -- What is the actual NORMAL day-to-day expectation of a POTUS which has not been done bythis POTUS in the course of his employment? * How can you claim to be a country based on rule of law with such shenanigans? Such that it undermines the willingness of the people to follow the rule of law in ever aspect of the spectrum. https://youtu.be/m4OvQIGDg4I?t=51 https://youtu.be/m4OvQIGDg4I?t=51
- sabujp 8y ago
  lol@thinking that people in power will vote to not pay themselves
  - samstave 8y ago
    Ha - Yeah thats the point... Meaning - Why isn't this a larger talking point? (Aside from the fact that we have more millionaires and billionaires in political positions than ever - so they are frankly the 'working-class' who would not be impacted by a pay furlough)
    - graedus 8y ago
      > we have more millionaires and billionaires in political positions than ever I was curious about the numbers on this in terms of congress members. It doesn't appear that anyone in congress specifically is actually a billionaire as of 2016[0], but over half of them are millionaires as of 2014[1]. Of course there are non-congress members that are billionaires (Trump, DeVos, Ross, some governors, etc)[2]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_by_wealth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/us/politics/more-than-half-the-members-of-congress-are-millionaires-analysis-finds.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/us/politics/more-than-hal... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_richest_American_politicians https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_richest_American_polit... edit: added information
aurailious 8y ago
Not to mention contractors. Plus restaurants and other services near federal buildings that the workers use. If people aren't working they aren't going to dry clean suits or go to lunch for example. Those people aren't getting loans.
ataturk 8y ago
The Federal Govt. has too many workers. We taxpayers cover it. It's ridiculous. I don't care about their plight--the TSA should never have existed to begin with! It was a Bush era power grab on top of 9/11, which to me, was perpetrated by our own Intel community specifically so they could do their big power grab. The world will not fall apart if TSA goes out of existence. Stop thinking like a statist and start thinking like a free American FOR A CHANGE! On the radio this morning, my state legislature is trying to get a law passed to give zero-interest loans to all these assholes. What...the...hell? Where was my state govt. to bail me out on the many occassions where my work was tenuous as hell?
endisukaj 8y ago
> simply take out loans So not only are they not getting paid now, but they should also pay loan interests once their pay goes in.
albertshin 8y ago
sorry, can you provide a link to the FBI cancelling their internship program? I can't seem to find anything to read on that.
- wonderwonder 8y ago
  Saw it on twitter, which upon consideration maybe should be taken with a grain of salt. https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1088453026782703616 https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/10884530267827036...
loeg 8y ago
It seems like this will have far-reaching consequences for the government's ability to hire, too. They don't have the ability to promise a steady job with steady pay anymore so they're going to have to pay more for labor.
onetimemanytime 8y ago
This is unrelated, but you cannot live your life (in a happy way) being broke virtually all the time. If you are having major problem because a paycheck is missing, you are broke. Very few escape the trap, even if your salary increases, your expenses do too. Not a way to live. If another person had suggested to get a loan it would have seem more reasonable. You lose a couple of hundred or maybe tens of dollars but at least you get the rest. However, having a billionaire, labeled as out of touch, and presumably teams of lawyers that do his loan paperwork say that...

mr337 8y ago

Some banks are setting up low interest loan programs only for federal employees. They are low interest and are focused on amounts of 2-3 time your paycheck. Granted the rate things are going that might not be enough.

Spartan-S63 8y ago
Not to mention that low interest loans are sort of predatory in this context, despite being lower than market rate interest rates. I understand that they have a profit a motive, but it doesn't make them the "good guys" in this scenario. There really are no good guys during a government shutdown.
- thenipper 8y ago
  Seriously, I'd imagine most of the people impacted who need the loans don't necessarily have the income to cover an extra loan payment when this is over.
- dwighttk 8y ago
  kinda depends on the interest rate... look at it as an insurance for the bank against some of the people defaulting on the loans and it isn't predatory.
- excalibur 8y ago
  > There really are no good guys during a government shutdown. The Canadian air traffic controllers who sent a bunch of pizzas to their American counterparts were pretty good. Also I would argue that people who keep reporting for work when they aren't getting paid and doing their job to the best of their ability aren't too shabby either, no matter what the pundits say about how prepared they should have been.
- AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
  First two results returned by searching for "federal shutdown loan" show 0% interest loans: https://www.navyfederal.org/about/government-shutdown.php https://www.navyfederal.org/about/government-shutdown.php https://www.interiorfcu.org/resources/government-shutdown/ https://www.interiorfcu.org/resources/government-shutdown/ I don't see how is it predatory. Considering that it costs bank about 2% to borrow money this is borderline charity.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Those are credit unions aimed at federal employees. Which means that a large chunk of their ownership is people affected by the shutdown. That’s not charity so much as helping themselves. Which is still great, obviously, but I wonder how it is for affected people who don’t belong to federal employee credit unions.
    - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
      Chase and Citi have similar programs as well: https://online.citi.com/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=USGovShutdown&JFP_TOKEN=P9ZONSKP https://online.citi.com/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=USGovShutdown... https://media.chase.com/news/chase-assists-federal-employees-affected-by-government-shutdown https://media.chase.com/news/chase-assists-federal-employees... It's one of those cases when every dime in interest will cost you a dollar in reputation.
- Consultant32452 8y ago
  Several banks are offering zero percent interest loans. Cheap advertising perhaps, but not predatory loans. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/here-are-the-banks-and-credit-unions-helping-federal-workers-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/here-are-the-banks-and-credi...
- yardie 8y ago
  One of the "no good guys" is used to not paying employees. So there is no good and worse guys.
notus 8y ago
This feels like disaster capitalism. They are inflating their image by saving the day when it is a responsibility of the state to ensure this doesn't happen and to not use shutdowns as a negotiation tactic. If anything they are just prolonging people getting angry enough to do something about it.
- SamReidHughes 8y ago
  If not agreeing to a deal can't be used as a negotiating tactic, what can be?

sremani 8y ago

If you got to any bank website at least the ones I bank with, there is a flashing notice on the front page, if I were a federal worker who needs assistance due to shut down. I am sure, certain workers have easy ways than others but to say that at least some banks have not stepped up is incorrect.

wonderwonder 8y ago
Just checked my bank website, you are right. Site does not go into specifics as to what the assistance is but optimally it is a bridge loan that can get implemented quickly. These workers are still going to get hammered by late payments etc. and potential evictions but it is good to know at least something is being done.
brianwawok 8y ago
Many are offering loans of 10%+ APR. That is helpful, but maybe not a great situation for many people that have no savings to need the loan.
- sv123 8y ago
  Think of the boost to the economy we will get once these banks report their next quarter earnings! /s, hopefully obvious
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  10%+ feels exploitative and predatory. The current fed interest rate is 2.5% - 4x above that is "let's profit on the unfortunate".
  - posterboy 8y ago
    If it's short term, you end up paying less than 10% on it. If!
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      That's true, but the only way you'll be able to pay is if once things are rolling again you have that much extra cash. I don't know how tight people live.

tibbon 8y ago

I've seen too many people say, "Oh, government workers should all know this stuff happens all the time, and if they don't have months or years of savings in the bank then it's just their fault". It's really sad that instead of being compassionate, too many are focusing on what "should" be instead of what is the reality for many people. Like you point out, the reality is that most people don't have savings. They should in theory; but life rarely lines up with should. I too feel terrible for people being hurt by these comparatively wealthy politicians playing games with their livelihood.

reaperducer 8y ago
It's really sad that instead of being compassionate I think it's city-to-city. Some cities are just grumpy toward people who experience misfortune. Others are not. In one city I was in recently, the churches organized a round-robin nightly banquet for furloughed federal workers so they can get a good meal, and household supplies, and help with their basic bills each night. In Las Vegas, the city is putting on a big picnic in the main park this weekend for federal workers with free food, supplies, and support services. When I paid bills online this past weekend, almost every bank and utility web site I went to had a banner across the top reading "Affected by the federal shutdown? Let us know so we can help." I haven't seen this everywhere, though. It depends on the type of city in which they live.
creaghpatr 8y ago
It's the same way for families who live in border communities. Only the problem doesn't immediately evaporate when the government reopens. Federal workers will likely be backpaid, but a victim of illegal immigrant-perpetrated murders or sexual assualt can never be repaid.
flyingpenguin 8y ago
The thing that really bothers me about that "They should have savings" logic, is the expectation that they should have to use them. Yes. They should have savings. EVERYONE should have min 3 months of income in savings. No one should be expected to use it.
- 8y ago

tvanantwerp 8y ago

In DC, I've seen lots of banks and credit unions offering 0% loans to furloughed Feds.

cr1895 8y ago

>An administration official recommended that all those affected simply take out loans but unfortunately banks don't lend to people without an income I think bills have been passed already guaranteeing back pay for federal employees, so it's a bit more complicated than "no income" for federal employees. However, everyone else who is a contractor or otherwise tangentially dependent on government employment... And of course getting back pay at some unknown future date doesn't put food on the table now or keep you from losing your house or car.

metamet 8y ago
Well, to add a bit more context to it, the administration dismissed the issue, saying that people should just work with grocery stores and banks in order to survive. Full text: > Local people know who they are when they go for groceries and everything else. So I think what Wilbur was probably trying to say was that they will work along — I know banks are working along. If you have mortgages, the mortgagees, the folks collecting the interest and all of those things, they work along. And that's what happens in a time like this, they know the people, they've been dealing with them for years, and they work along. The grocery stores...and I think that's probably what Wilbur Ross meant.
- zentiggr 8y ago
  So... mortgage holders are just going to say "oh, you're on furlough... ok, we'll hold your payment schedule and just rewrite the terms once you have pay again." WTF is the disconnect here? Defaults are going to spike and I can't imagine that any significant percentage of them would be forgiven. And I haven't seen a grocery store run 'personal credit' since maybe before the 50s at best? Pre-Depression? Somebody is breathing that Washington nitrous oxide again.
  - cr1895 8y ago
    >And I haven't seen a grocery store run 'personal credit' since maybe before the 50s at best? Pre-Depression? The ridiculous out-of-touch callousness of it all aside, I remember my parents having credit at a small neighborhood grocery in the 90s-00s. It's not necessarily a relic of the 50s.

trhway 8y ago

>An administration official recommended that all those affected simply take out loans that official is the billionaire Wilbur Ross. A historic precedent comes to mind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake .

naval-gazer 8y ago

In many states FBI has run out of replacement tires for vehicles, DNA swab kits, trace evidence filters. FBI can't pay for translator services, etc. They can't pay for informants.

module0000 8y ago
>> They can't pay for informants. This probably isn't the place, but I don't want them paying for informants. There is no vote I can cast to stop this practice. Effectively, I have no choice but to have the money I work hard for taxed and used in this fashion.
- naval-gazer 8y ago
  Paying for informants is one of the most efficient uses of government money. It's not a large sum.
pjc50 8y ago
Fortunately they managed to find volunteers to arrest Roger Stone, which may have been a factor in ending the shutdown..

howlingfantods 8y ago

On one hand, I understand Ross’ reasoning. If my company were to go to a bank with a federal guarantee, we’d get a very cheap loan. On the other hand, he thinks an average individual’s response to missing paychecks should be to seek a low interest loan against a government guarantee. That’s comically out of touch. I’ve been working in finance my entire life and I’d have a tough time working through the loan application process. That’s the type of advice you’d hear a private wealth manager give to his wealthy client. Wealthy people are often asset rich but cash poor so they’ll take out bank loans to finance short term cash flow needs. No doubt Wilbur Ross has availed himself to these services and is shocked that government employees haven’t taken advantage of such conveniences.

evil-olive 8y ago
Reminds me of Mitt Romney's comments in 2012 about borrowing money from your parents: > “We’ve always encouraged young people, take — take a shot, go for it. Take a risk. Get the education. Borrow money, if you have to, from your parents. Start a business.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-to-college-students-pursue-your-dreams-even-if-you-have-to-borrow-to-do-so/2012/04/27/gIQAFGM8lT_blog.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romn...
- newyankee 8y ago
  After being in the US for so many years now, earlier i used to feel such comments were blatant lies that obviously people with their own agendas do. However now i feel that some people really live in such a bubble that they do not have a basic understanding of the society they are living in and what 'average', 'above average','middle class' etc. means
  - cr1895 8y ago
    It's one banana, Michael, what could it cost? Ten dollars?
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
    We all live in bubbles, it's the nature of our existence because we have limited capacity for understanding experiences outside of our own.

tossaccount123 8y ago

There's multiple organizations offering 0% interest loans because the backpay is guaranteed by the US federal government. Not ideal but there really shouldn't be any government workers worried about paying their bills

base698 8y ago

That may be true but a lot of ATC workers do better than grunt software engineers. Five year experience can make $180K+. It's hard to imagine not having savings if you make that much. It's possible of course just harder than the general population.

samstave 8y ago

Serious questions I have: * Are senators/house reps being paid? If so - Why? * If the government is going to shit on people like this - then why are those people required to pay a tax (which is money extracted from the population to pay for services which the government provides - if the government refuses to provide those services, then why would you be obligated to pay a tax - thus the shutdown should be filed as an exemption during tax season) * How in the fucking world is it that someone can "shutdown" the government in the first place?? * If you had a CEO who was embroiled in this much scandal - wouldn't you question "So, what is it you'd say you actually do around here?"[0] -- What is the actual NORMAL day-to-day expectation of a POTUS which has not been done bythis POTUS in the course of his employment? * How can you claim to be a country based on rule of law with such shenanigans? Such that it undermines the willingness of the people to follow the rule of law in ever aspect of the spectrum. https://youtu.be/m4OvQIGDg4I?t=51 https://youtu.be/m4OvQIGDg4I?t=51

sabujp 8y ago
lol@thinking that people in power will vote to not pay themselves
- samstave 8y ago
  Ha - Yeah thats the point... Meaning - Why isn't this a larger talking point? (Aside from the fact that we have more millionaires and billionaires in political positions than ever - so they are frankly the 'working-class' who would not be impacted by a pay furlough)
  - graedus 8y ago
    > we have more millionaires and billionaires in political positions than ever I was curious about the numbers on this in terms of congress members. It doesn't appear that anyone in congress specifically is actually a billionaire as of 2016[0], but over half of them are millionaires as of 2014[1]. Of course there are non-congress members that are billionaires (Trump, DeVos, Ross, some governors, etc)[2]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_by_wealth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/us/politics/more-than-half-the-members-of-congress-are-millionaires-analysis-finds.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/us/politics/more-than-hal... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_richest_American_politicians https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_richest_American_polit... edit: added information

aurailious 8y ago

Not to mention contractors. Plus restaurants and other services near federal buildings that the workers use. If people aren't working they aren't going to dry clean suits or go to lunch for example. Those people aren't getting loans.

ataturk 8y ago

The Federal Govt. has too many workers. We taxpayers cover it. It's ridiculous. I don't care about their plight--the TSA should never have existed to begin with! It was a Bush era power grab on top of 9/11, which to me, was perpetrated by our own Intel community specifically so they could do their big power grab. The world will not fall apart if TSA goes out of existence. Stop thinking like a statist and start thinking like a free American FOR A CHANGE! On the radio this morning, my state legislature is trying to get a law passed to give zero-interest loans to all these assholes. What...the...hell? Where was my state govt. to bail me out on the many occassions where my work was tenuous as hell?

endisukaj 8y ago

> simply take out loans So not only are they not getting paid now, but they should also pay loan interests once their pay goes in.

albertshin 8y ago

sorry, can you provide a link to the FBI cancelling their internship program? I can't seem to find anything to read on that.

wonderwonder 8y ago
Saw it on twitter, which upon consideration maybe should be taken with a grain of salt. https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1088453026782703616 https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/10884530267827036...

loeg 8y ago

It seems like this will have far-reaching consequences for the government's ability to hire, too. They don't have the ability to promise a steady job with steady pay anymore so they're going to have to pay more for labor.

onetimemanytime 8y ago

This is unrelated, but you cannot live your life (in a happy way) being broke virtually all the time. If you are having major problem because a paycheck is missing, you are broke. Very few escape the trap, even if your salary increases, your expenses do too. Not a way to live. If another person had suggested to get a loan it would have seem more reasonable. You lose a couple of hundred or maybe tens of dollars but at least you get the rest. However, having a billionaire, labeled as out of touch, and presumably teams of lawyers that do his loan paperwork say that...