Ray From Cleveland
Diamond Member
- Aug 16, 2015
- 97,215
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Millions of workers are one paycheck away from the streets. Millions more live from paycheck to paycheck I know several people that have no savings, no pay check, then no groceries, no rent payment, etc.That works both ways. A lifelong friend of mine called me many years ago asking if my company was looking for any drivers? At the time we actually were because my employer was considering expanding. So I set him up with my boss for an interview.
He had a great gravy job as a school bus driver. He loved going to work. Working extra hours for field trips and football games was even better yet. So why was he looking for a new job? Because here we vote on school levies, and when they fail, bus drivers are the first to get laid off.
Because he worked two jobs, he was not eligible for unemployment. He was a guy who wanted a stay-at-home wife who also home schooled their children. He needed a guaranteed income that he couldn't depend on driving for the school.
So he gave up that taxpayer dependent job and has been working for us for nearly 25 years.
Federal employees are very hard to fire. It almost takes an act of Congress to do so. When I was stationed in Newport RI, there was an ESO (Educational Services Officer), who was a civilian at PSD there, and he was responsible for ordering, administering, and mailing in the Navy Wide Advancement Exams for making rank.
Well, one test cycle, he wasn't at his best, and let quite a few things slip through the cracks. One of which was that he failed to mail in the examinations, and invalidated a lot of tests for people which was a VERY huge deal. A normal military person would have been court martialed and kicked out of the military. Him? They had an investigation, he continued to show up for work, and somehow, they found that he wasn't really at fault, and he kept his job as a civilian clerk at PSD, but he lost his title as ESO.
Sorry, but it is extremely hard to fire a federal government worker.
If that's the case, then I don't think the government would fire people who didn't come into work for no pay and had to depend on other sources for immediate income. I think even an employer in the private sector would have to respect that.
When I went through the shutdown in the 90's, all the furloughed workers were free to do what they wanted. The only ones on the base that were determined "essential" were the military, and some of the higher ranking civilians. Those who showed up for work because they were essential knew they would eventually get their check, but would have to figure out how to make it work until then.
Furloughed workers are different from essential personnel who are still working.
Well I think the media is playing this for all it's worth. The first paycheck they missed was yesterday for crying out loud, yet they are showing stories of government workers at food pantries.
Plus if they are applicable for unemployment benefits, in a sense they are getting double pay for those not working at all.
What we're hearing now is mostly fear. After missing another paycheck or so, a lot of people are going to be desperate. People that are furrowed are eligible for unemployment. Those that are working without pay aren't.
If this goes on another month or so, we are going have massive walkouts in critical jobs and Trump will have deal with it.
Well then he'll have to deal with it, but I don't think the Democrats can play chicken that long. They will cave before then. This shutdown is going to hurt them more than Trump.