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Suppose Trump DOES make it go on for a year. Or more.
Knowing I'm going to get paid a years worth of salary does not make it easier to swallow not getting paid for that year.
No president, not just trump, should be able to hold workers paychecks hostage. No matter what the reason.
Not even for WWIII.
If everyone who gets furloughed or works without pay quit, where would the nation be?
Its not right to hold them and those they owe money to for rent or mortgage hostage, period.
If you think it is, then YOU can work with no pay, see how long you like it.
Some of you may be business owners who plow everything back into the business, but you have other sources of income of have enough savings to do so.
These workers don't either own the business or have the savings to do it by.
I dont blame the worker who puts up go fund me pages to get something to survive by. I might just contribute, even from my meager income. Its NOT their fault!!
To me, payroll and essential spending should be untouchable and not impacted by whatever the political fight of the month is.
Nobody forces you to sign up with TSA. Those are low skill jobs with mostly easy working conditions and excellent benefits.
Given that you made a blanket statement.....
What first-hand experience do you have with TSA?
Do you personally know anyone who works for TSA?
Other than going through an airport, what actual first hand knowledge of what TSA does? the training employees receive, and under what "conditions" TSA employees work?
As I've mentioned on these boards, what makes matters worse is that many federal government workers do not have transferable skills for private sector or academic jobs because their federal jobs are so heavily administrative. So it is not like they can just easily get a private sector job if things get bad (unless they are a CPA or health care practitioner, where the skill set is the same across sectors). They are essential stuck in the government and having to plan around and stress out about shutdowns is the new normal.
I hate to disagree but every company -- employer -- has someone doing administrative duties.
At small companies -- the owner and/or the owner's spouse may do it.....large companies may have staff and entire departments that do those things that keep the company functioning.....some companies may contract the work out. Whatever the case -- SOMEone is doing those jobs.....HR, payroll, EEOC, quality control, compliance, .....janitorial, facilities management, grounds maintenance, document review, legal counsel, security, secretary, admin assistant, revenue, accounts receivable, librarian, PR, marketing, interior design, the list could be endless
I'd say many, if not most, government employees do the same kinds of job others do in the private sector. So their skills are VERY transferable. There just may not be as many of those jobs in the private sector.
Just because of the numbers, would all of those furloughed workers FIND jobs in the private sector? Likely not.
But that's not the same as saying their SKILLS won't transfer.
I hate to disagree but every company -- employer -- has someone doing administrative duties.
At small companies -- the owner and/or the owner's spouse may do it.....large companies may have staff and entire departments that do those things that keep the company functioning.....some companies may contract the work out. Whatever the case -- SOMEone is doing those jobs.....HR, payroll, EEOC, quality control, compliance, .....janitorial, facilities management, grounds maintenance, document review, legal counsel, security, secretary, admin assistant, revenue, accounts receivable, librarian, PR, marketing, interior design, the list could be endless
I'd say many, if not most, government employees do the same kinds of job others do in the private sector. So their skills are VERY transferable. There just may not be as many of those jobs in the private sector.
Just because of the numbers, would all of those furloughed workers FIND jobs in the private sector? Likely not.
But that's not the same as saying their SKILLS won't transfer.
Agreed. I'm in a supposedly technical role at a hospital system. The truth is that I'm a back office administrative paper pusher with a lot of time on my hands to post on C-D.
Given that you made a blanket statement.....
What first-hand experience do you have with TSA?
Do you personally know anyone who works for TSA?
Other than going through an airport, what actual first hand knowledge of what TSA does? the training employees receive, and under what "conditions" TSA employees work?
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here thinking who on earth can afford to buy a house in an area with a strong job market (including DC) on only $70,000 a year.
I make more than that and live more than an hour from my suburban workplace in a 1 bedroom apartment in order to be able to afford to save for both an emergency fund and retirement. Buying a home is out of the question. It took me 8 years into my career post-college to be able to afford to live without roommates with 4-6 months of an emergency fund in the bank. No vacations, limited extras, and thankfully no student loan debt but it still took time and a lot of really careful saving. Saving 10% of my income a year just for emergencies - not even counting retirement - is way more than most people are able to do and that still takes quite some time to accumulate. Throw student loans, childcare, or other unexpected issues into the mix (my cancer threw my savings for a loop and a half) things get a whole lot harder.
In particular, I've been thinking about TSA agents. The mean pay is $40,160. That may be fine if you're working in the Albany, NY airport where you can live in Watervliet and rent a 2 bedroom apartment for under $800 a month, but large airports like Boston, NYC, SFO, LAX, etc may pay more, but not enough to offset local cost of living. Sure, people may be able to save, but it will take much longer. Half of the furloughed jobs, like TSA, do not require more than a high school degree so they are pathways to stability for low-skill workers. These aren't people who are destined to succeed as engineers, computer programs, doctors, or lawyers but they are able to make a stable living and have potential to work up in the system. Are you really going to begrudge someone who works for TSA in Boston or for ICE on the border or a blue collar federal job in Montana for not having months of savings - something that may take them years to bank up?
Yes, mostly. No one is forcing them to live a lifestyle that they can't afford. Far too many people make big mistakes such as financing a car right out of college and then try to blame others for the fact that they are broke. Or they blow a lot of money on vacations and then complain that they can't save an emergency fund. Yes, even on a low income.
That said, it is not right for the government - or a private company - to expect people to work without pay.
To me, payroll and essential spending should be untouchable and not impacted by whatever the political fight of the month is.
I think that is the opinion of most sensible people. Congress should pass a bill authoring the funding of all current Federal positions ASAP (and be wiling to override a presidential veto with a supermajority, if necessary). The current infighting over funding a wall shouldn't be permitted to paralyze the government. We all need a functioning government!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ncole1
That said, it is not right for the government - or a private company - to expect people to work without pay.
I think the technical term for someone who is forced to work without pay (and who isn't allowed to quit because their position has been deemed essential to society's functioning) is "slave." And I thought we had outlawed it over a century ago.
If you chose to be a government employee because of all the benefits and stability that come with being a government employee then you are accepting the risk that you are subject to the whims of politicians. I'm not going to bail you out in times like this because you're certainly not going to bail me out after you retire and have that government pension to fall back on.
I understand that some people need help, however, taxpayers that already fund their salary should not again be on the hook when your personal finances are not in order.
I do have sympathy for contractors that do not get all the perks that federal employees get.
The sensible thing, whether you are federal or not, is to have a solid emergency fund so you can weather any curveball that life throws at you. Because it will happen, and being adults we should be always be prepared. There were many lean years when I first started as a gov't contractor with no benefits, knowing I needed to save part of my meager salary so that the future me would not be in trouble during hard times.
The sensible thing, whether you are federal or not, is to have a solid emergency fund so you can weather any curveball that life throws at you. Because it will happen, and being adults we should be always be prepared. There were many lean years when I first started as a gov't contractor with no benefits, knowing I needed to save part of my meager salary so that the future me would not be in trouble during hard times.
That's all well and good, but we all know it's not possible for everyone.
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