The misery is the point for the GOP
this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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I've dealt with this a few times in my former career. Unfortunately, I was in the military and there's no quitting that job. You're signed up for a certain number of years and pretty much the only guaranteed way out of it early is to commit a crime and go to jail.
Fortunately, govt shutdowns weren't too bad for those of us who used USAA as their bank. Since they're a military-specific company, they know how our pay works and they know the federal govt is good for the money (eventually), so they'd deposit our regular paychecks in our account, even if we didn't actually get paid during the shutdown.
I had some coworkers without USAA who had to dig into savings to survive govt shutdowns, though.
Wait shit, I knew we didn’t pay federal employees who can leave during shutdowns but I was under the impression that the military at least kept operational budget including pay. Like that’s such a dick move. Especially since every shutdown has been from the party of “support our troops”.
The military itself has an annual budget that's approved every year. A govt shutdown doesn't cut off our access to that money; it's already been made available at the beginning of the fiscal year. A shutdown just prevents the govt from approving the next year's budget.
But the shutdown does affect service members' individual pay, since that's handed out twice a month (on the 1st and 15th). And it's not like we can just not work until we get paid. The way our contracts work, we're essentially on duty 24/7/365, for as many years as we signed up for (usually 4-6 at a time). We're authorized "regular leave" daily so we can go home, eat, sleep, and recharge for the next day. Because of that arrangement, we're always on call, expected to work whatever shift we're ordered to, and go wherever in the world the military needs us at a moment's notice. And it's impossible to work overtime if you're always on shift. Unless they enact "stop-loss," which prevents us from leaving the service when our contract expires. The Army did that for the Iraq War; a buddy of mine was stuck in the Army for 17 months past the end of his enlistment contract.
Especially since every shutdown has been from the party of “support our troops”.
If there's anything I've learned in the 20 years I served, it's that Republican politicians use the "support our troops" line to win votes. But in reality, they don't give a shit about service members or veterans, and have regularly been voting to defund programs that actively help and support us. Democrats have done more to help military members, veterans, and their families, than Republicans. Trump himself didn't want anything to do with us unless it boosted his image with his constituents. I believe he called our MIA/KIA/POWs "losers." When I retired last year, almost every military member I worked with was voting Democrat. Fuck the Republican Party.
Obligatory disclaimer: The republicans are once again acting like fucking clowns, and this is a completely unnecessary hardship for many.
However, I worked for the DoD (civilian) in the early 2010’s when this happened a couple times. We actually looked forward to shutdowns.
As far as I’m aware, we had always been given back pay, so as long as you weren’t living paycheck to paycheck it was just a free vacation.
Well yeah, if you already have money than not getting money so you can eat this week/month isn't a problem...
Most shutdowns are short enough to not miss a paycheck. I think only a couple times have paychecks been missed.
I believe that part of the legislation of the last shutdown included guaranteed back pay for federal workers.
Before that though, it was a case of federal workers being sent home without pay...or told they were essential and had to still work without pay, and part of the details of whatever legislation ended the shutdown would determine whether these workers would be paid.
So it was entirely possible to be forced to work through a shutdown and at the end of it be told that you weren't going to be paid after all.
Now it's mandatory, I think.
So a shutdown is an even bigger waste of tax dollars for the party that claims to hate government waste, since they're effectively giving a paid vacation to the employees of the largest employer in the US: the federal government.
If there's a shutdown, essential employees will work, with guaranteed back pay, while non-essential employees will be sent home and not be allowed to work, also receiving back pay when the shutdown ends.
That's pretty much the draw for the GOP.
And a bunch of these employees will still vote Republican. Stupid fuckers.
There's a law for this. Civil servants get backpay. Sucks if it goes on too long as the paycheck-to-paycheck might be in trouble if it extends more than a few weeks. Resignation might be feasible in that case if they have another job lined up.
The Act requires that furloughed employees receive retroactive wages for the length of a shutdown at the standard rate of pay. It also requires that excepted employees working without pay receive retroactive pay for work performed. In addition, the Act grants excepted employees permission to use their paid leave, and to receive standard compensation for leave taken.[14]
Don't most government jobs use pensions as their retirement plans? Quitting early is like killing your retirement plan and starting from scratch. Great way to waste 15 years of work.
It unfortunately doesn't extend to contractors who are also effected by the shutdown
great they'll just starve instead
They do, but it doesn't quite work like that. If someone who has 15 years in leaves and comes back any time after, they start at 15. The time they were gone doesn't count, but all federal time is aggregated at the end (except for military time which has it's own rules).
There is no one left to process the letters...
As if there weren't already enough reasons to avoid working for the government.
LOL, I'd love a government job, of almost any sort. Fair pay, about can't get fired, outstanding benefits and retirement, all that and a bag of chips.
Yeah, one can do better in the private sector, but government work is low risk vs. reward.
Just get a position with DoD or VA - they’re always excepted.
DoD civ go on furlough unless designated as essential. It also means many government contractors whose contracts aren't prepaid will stop work as well and those folks don't get paid in arrears.
Yeah I’m from an area with a lot of military contacting and grew up seeing people go from doing ok to struggling for a while because some jackasses decided to shut the government down as a temper tantrum.
Not true.
At least not for DoD. I can't speak for VA.
DoD civilians, basically one of their sufficiently high ranked superiors determines whether their work is essential or not, and essential workers work through the shutdown without pay while non-essential are sent home...with both receiving back pay when the shutdown ends, just like every other federal worker.
Okay, so now there's 99,999 reasons not to work for the government and not 100,000
Haha, I think your math is just a little off
For my brother, these were always fine. You were guaranteed the pay spans it was usually short term, so as long as you had enough savings, you’d be good. More importantly, you weren’t allowed to work, but still would eventually get paid