What do you plan to do during the furlough? (Alexandria: appointed, to eat)

[lqda4]

The next talk of the office will be why certain individuals are mission-essential and others are not...

[Dwellington]

Originally Posted by lqda4

The next talk of the office will be why certain individuals are mission-essential and others are not...

Well, out in the private sector, if you're not considered mission-essential, you have no job.

[still_waiting]

Originally Posted by Dwellington

Well, out in the private sector, if you're not considered mission-essential, you have no job.

I see where you are going with that statement. The term non-essential in government doesn't mean you or your job isn't essential per se. And also it can vary by what is going on at the time. I can't go into details, but if this would have happened lets say 3 weeks ago my entire branch would have been deemed essential, but things have died down a little so only a few in our office is needed for the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of operational status.

And that's basically what is meant by essential employees. Basically saying what is the absolute minimum needed for the government to operate in specific circumstances.

What people don't realize is that the government has to have redundancy for continuity reasons. I don't understand why people try to compare government to private, when they are two different entities that have entirely different purposes. A corporation/company/business sole reason is to make a profit. So in that case streamlining makes more sense. Governments reason is to provide a overall framework/structure for its constituents. without a solid, sound, and stable government (including all of its entities) you have Somalia. So redundancy and fail safe structure is more of a premium than corporations.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by Dwellington

Well, out in the private sector, if you're not considered mission-essential, you have no job.

In our case we were told to run as a skeleton crew so most of us got put on the bench. Those individuals who had been there a long time and had numerous roles were kept on the essential list. They said if an emergency happened, that we'd be recalled in an as-needed basis.

Since I had only been working since January, I wasn't too surprised I was put in the furlough list.

[need_more_light]

Originally Posted by Dwellington

Well, out in the private sector, if you're not considered mission-essential, you have no job.

First of all, non-essential does NOT mean unimportant. It just means that people will still survive but it MAY cripple the nation greatly without these non-essential services.

My job is not "essential" per se but my job is essential to the growth of the US and possibly global economy.

[jayh]

Originally Posted by mikebnllnb

I'm going to spend the time figuring out how to get rid of the GOP.

And while you're at it, ponder the fact that the Dems had all those months -- when they controlled Congress and the WH -- to pass a FY 2011 budget, but didn't. That's the greatest travesty of all.

[still_waiting]

I have a feeling that this thread is about to devolve.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

In our case we were told to run as a skeleton crew so most of us got put on the bench. Those individuals who had been there a long time and had numerous roles were kept on the essential list. They said if an emergency happened, that we'd be recalled in an as-needed basis.

Since I had only been working since January, I wasn't too surprised I was put in the furlough list.

I work for DoD but in in finance. Yet we send money out the door daily for the "peacekeeping" efforts.

Of our group, which numbers 100, only one person was deemed essential and that person is the lead person in our organization. We were going to be very bare bones.

[car54]

Originally Posted by jayh

And while you're at it, ponder the fact that the Dems had all those months -- when they controlled Congress and the WH -- to pass a FY 2011 budget, but didn't. That's the greatest travesty of all.

And that, in a nutshell, summarizes the depth to which our political system has descended....it's all about whose fault it is when bad things happen.

I'd much rather they argue about who gets the credit for successes, than who gets the blame for disasters....

[Gottasay]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Agencies cannot "save" money and allow their employees to work during a furlough. And if it had gone for two weeks this could mean a financial disaster for some who love paycheck to paycheck. Some could take the time and relax but certainly not all.

Nah, I actually know about agencies that saw this coming and set aside the funds needed to keep staff paid and working through the furlough, which they expected to be no more than two weeks long.

If you live paycheck to paycheck then you probably should be cutting back so that you have emergency savings. Everyone should have a rainy day fund. Every finance expert will tell you that. Look at the Japanese. Biggest savers in the world. They don't want our money. They have plenty saved up to help themselves.

Well, as I said last night, this "drama" didn't last that long. Here's hoping for even more cuts next time around.