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Pay for millions of federal workers is at risk with a looming government shutdown
NBC News / Comcast ^ | September 24, 2023 | By Shannon Pettypiece

Posted on 09/24/2023 7:10:28 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

With six kids under the age of 15 to support, Stephen Booth, a police officer for the Air Force in Kansas, doesn’t have room in his budget for a missed paycheck.

But like millions of other government employees across the country, Booth is bracing for his pay to stop indefinitely at the end of the month as Congress careers toward a government shutdown.

House Republicans left Thursday unable to reach a compromise within their ranks over a new budget, including funds for the Defense Department, with a handful of conservative holdouts demanding additional spending cuts. Unless Congress acts, the federal government will not be able to pay its 4 million employees after Sept. 30.

The shutdown comes at a particularly precarious time for many households already struggling with persistent inflation that has driven up the cost of rent, child care, groceries, transportation and utilities. At the same time, a string of Covid-era benefits have been expiring, such as the child tax credit, rental assistance and the pause on student loan payments, which are now set to resume in October. To cope, households have been spending down their savings and increasing their credit card debts over the past year.

“It’s really rice and beans time,” said Amad Ali, a claims specialist with the Social Security Administration in New Albany, Indiana, and president of his local AFGE union. “Most of us are dedicated civil servants and we keep on doing it, we keep on pushing forward, but it’s tough.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: biden; bidenflation; bidenomics; democrats; fjb; inflation; letsgobrandon; msdnc; mslsd; msnbc; msnbo; pmsnbc; shannonpettypiece; shutdown
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Happens everyday in the private sector. Why should taxpayer funded jobs be any different?


61 posted on 09/24/2023 8:08:35 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Great opportunity. Send them home packing and only allow a small part back that supports the constitutional portion of the federal government. The rest, PERMANENTLY DISMANTLE!!!!


62 posted on 09/24/2023 8:08:56 AM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Congress can easily cut $2 trillion as it raised it for the fake pandemic.

Congress raised the spending so it would be the baseline in the future.
Why we have massive inflation and high prices.

In 2019, Congress spent $4.4 trillion, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said.
In 2023, the federal government is expected to spend $6.3 trillion.


63 posted on 09/24/2023 8:12:14 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

80% of government workers are not needed. Every one of them I have had to deal with are lazy and think they are above the general public.


64 posted on 09/24/2023 8:14:53 AM PDT by wbslws
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To: Georgia Girl 2; Oldeconomybuyer

Why are we hiring police officers to protect military bases? What’s wrong with that picture?

The reason is that having civilians do that job instead of military police units and soldiers detailed from their units means a smaller active military and that non military police units tasked to due guard duty can spent their time training in their military specialty.

The same goes for hiring civilians to work in the mess halls, aka dining facilities, to replace active duty soldiers assigned for a day to wash dishes, break eggs for the cooks, and the old ‘peel potatoes’ and mop the floors. Those soldiers then can practice their specialty of being infantry, tankers, artillerymen, mechanics, etc.

At least that is what I learned from my 20 years active Army service and then as a Dept Army civilian historian for another 22 years. It is the modern version of allowing women to join the Army during WW2 to serve in stateside secretarial and similar jobs so that the men could be assigned to deploying combat units.


65 posted on 09/24/2023 8:18:58 AM PDT by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I am sooooo glad I retired from the federal government.


66 posted on 09/24/2023 8:19:48 AM PDT by ducttape45 (Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.")
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To: OHPatriot

I agree to shut it down, but not all federal workers are highly paid. The lower grades, GS-03 thru 06 are not well paid and yes, survive from paycheck to paycheck. I know cuz I was one. And many are very hard workers. Again, I was one. So let’s not lump them all in together.


67 posted on 09/24/2023 8:22:27 AM PDT by ducttape45 (Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.")
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

ALL the Fed employees get ALL their pay in the long run-—when the budget is passed.

ALL THE EMPLOYEES WHO LOST THEIR JOBS IN THE COVID CRAP DIDN’T GET ANYTHING IN BACK PAY WHEN BUSINESSES STARTED UP AGAIN


68 posted on 09/24/2023 8:27:08 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: Samurai_Jack

Social Security is NOT part of the annual budget.


69 posted on 09/24/2023 8:29:17 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

That’s complete bullshit. They get paid vacation when the government shuts down because when the government reopens they get all their back pay for the time they didn’t work.

So the only problem is if they’re living week to week and can’t afford to go a week or two without a paycheck. Which is their stinking fault all things considered.


70 posted on 09/24/2023 8:29:51 AM PDT by ChildOfThe60s ( If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there..)
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To: AndyJackson
In response to your questions, I will personally vouch for this.

Many, and I mean, MANY federal workers spend a majority of their time either gabbing on the phone or talking for hours on end in the office and maybe put in 2 hours of useful work during the day. I saw it all the time.

I was ostracized because when I came into work at 0730 hours, I started right into the job. I was always busy, and I worked until the bell rang at 1630 hours, and many times I would work from home without compensation, and they considered me "anti-social." I was working for crying out loud!

So yes, I believe many departments can be downsized, considerably. But also remember that there are federal workers who earn their paycheck because they step up and do the work that no one else does and never get any recognition for it.

71 posted on 09/24/2023 8:30:03 AM PDT by ducttape45 (Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.")
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To: GreyFriar

Yes I see your point but on counter point it appears to just be another excuse to increase the size of the bureaucracy. I’d opt for a larger military because the military for the most part is not a career it turns over. Civilian personnel are forever.


72 posted on 09/24/2023 8:32:01 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Jim W N; All

People who rant & rave about federal workers miss the point entirely! They’re just the symptom not the cause. It’s like blaming the fever for the disease!

The cause is the congresscritter you continually re-elect. You know, my congressman\woman is great yadda yadda....it’s those other congressmen\women who are bad yadda ydaa.... For twenty years federal budgets have grown by something like 8% a year Not a single fed worker is directly responsible for that. They don’t vote for those budgets! Many many of us want our turn at the taxpayer money trough!

If you zero’ed out the salaries and pensions of federal workers, etc. we still go off the financial cliff! Using 2022 numbers and adding in postal workers, military salaries and pensions its 13.8% of the budget. (Note: Non-DOD & postal its 7%!) Fed workers are not the primary problem!

The primary problem: There’s always a million persuasive political reasons to spend money! (and we fall for most of them!) Hardly any politically persuasive reasons for not doing so.


73 posted on 09/24/2023 8:33:28 AM PDT by Reily (!!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
--- "Pay for millions of federal workers is at risk with a looming government shutdown"

Time for federal employees to "feel the pain." This should be placed in a larger frame of the American people, a far larger population than the potentially victimized "millions of federal workers."

US median per capita $65K

Less than $50k -- 60.96% of population.
Circa $50k-$100k -- 24.61% of population.
More than $100k -- 14.43% of population.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

Over 60 percent of the nation has less than $50K income, while the news media is ringing their hands over "millions of federal workers" possibly losing monthly income for a while.

Cry me a river.

74 posted on 09/24/2023 8:33:38 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Boohoo


75 posted on 09/24/2023 8:36:46 AM PDT by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT)
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To: oldbill

That should change. Maybe they could learn streamlining.


76 posted on 09/24/2023 8:38:45 AM PDT by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT)
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To: curious7
--- "...since we’re 32T in debt." With respect, your comment is already out of date. Please (unfortunately) see....
Debt Clock

77 posted on 09/24/2023 8:39:51 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: Reily

That may be all great and wonderful, but the fact is the greatest threat to our country, our freedom, and our wellbeing is none other than the $3+trillion, 80%+ unconstitutional portion of the federal government which needs to be PERMANENTLY SHUT DOWN in order to restore our Free Constitutional Republic.

And that’a a fact, Jack.


78 posted on 09/24/2023 8:41:40 AM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

same old, same old, government workers have their paychecks delayed and the enemedia has a cow. Companies close and move to China, crickets.


79 posted on 09/24/2023 8:44:18 AM PDT by MulberryDraw
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To: central_va
I care little to nothing about Federal workers being laid off. I do care about our veterans who will be used on the 6 O'clock news as the people those mean Republicans don't care about. Also the will be denied access to the war memorials in DC. Like Obama did.
80 posted on 09/24/2023 8:44:52 AM PDT by 4yearlurker (Arise and shine,and give God the glory!-A trail cook's morning call.)
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