US Govt. Shutdown: It's NOT 800,000 Families Hurt. It's Millions

[appalachiablue]

'Um, It's Not "800,000 Families" Hurt by the Shutdown.' By Crashing Vor, Daily Kos, Dec. 27, 2018. It’s millions. Thanks to the Republican dream of running government like a business being starved and drowned in a bathtub, much of the actual work done in Uncle Sam’s name is actually performed by contractors, large and small.

And, should those contractors and all their subs of subs not be contracted by an “essential” agency, they are as good and screwed as any fed clock-puncher, often more so. As one fellow put it the last time we danced this dance with Donald (or was it the time before?), “We know the drill. No government, no billable hours. I thoroughly enjoy playing this game with my income every two months.”

Many furloughed contract employees do not operate under collective bargaining agreements, so they will not be paid during the shutdown. Some, in fact, may not get paid at all. Unpaid employees of federal contractors, however, might not be paid. "In the past, some contractors have secured retro-financing, but it varies from agency to agency and contract to contract," said Michael MacHarg, an attorney with Freeborn & Peters in Chicago. However, Libby Henninger, an attorney with Littler in Washington, D.C., said, "Retroactive compensation typically is not the case for government contractors."

Members of congress and the media are rightly talking about the ripple effect on the economy from 800,000 federal workers being furloughed. But the number of workers and families affected is actually much larger. Even people who don’t work for the government at all can have their incomes yanked by these GOP temper tantrums...More,

More & *See Comments, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/12/27/1821943/-Um-It-s-Not-800-000-Families-Hurt-by-the-Shutdown?utm_campaign=trending

>Comment: "Do the Congresscritters/Senators/WH Staff still get paid when the government shuts down? If the answer is yes, that needs to stop right now. Hit them in the wallet and they may stop using this tactic. Also forcing people in essential jobs to work without pay is slavery and should also stop, NOW.
This entire idea of holding the country hostage by shutting down down the government for a political agenda should result in automatic removal from office, for life. No pension, no pay, no lufe-long health insurance/benefits."

[Beartracks]

1. Republican temper tantrums, millions of people hurt. n/t

[Haggis for Breakfast]

3. Among them is EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD.

Let that sink in for minute.

[Yes, I know there are a lot of others - 14,000 FBI agents, 5,000 firefighters with the U S Forest Service, 4,500 Secret Service (including their support staff and technical experts), and ALL air traffic controllers across the nation (These guys need to walk out. NOW. That would bring the country to its knees in a New York minute.).]

For all of his bluff and bluster about national security . . . 42,000 Coasties not getting a paycheck is a fucking HUGE issue of NATIONAL SECURITY if I ever saw one.

Get this bastard out of office "by any means necessary."

[SWBTATTReg]

2. I like this suggestion...see below.

This entire idea of holding the country hostage by shutting down down the government for a political agenda should result in automatic removal from office, for life. No pension, no pay, no lufe-long health insurance/benefits."

Maybe it's time that we look at this more closely. SWBTATTReg