Looming Government Shutdown (again)

[sampson]

I'm self employed. Who's wrung their hands for any of us ever. We take all the risk and pay your wages.

You didn't get a bailout?

[TheGrey]

USAA is giving interest free payroll advances to military.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/20/news...own/index.html

Thanks! We already passed on that news to them, and we've got another Army buddy who's helping watch out for them.

The one thing that helps in this atmosphere is that the Armed Services watches out for one another. If this furlough goes on for a while, I'm hoping that folks caught in dire straits will reach out.

[roberth]

UGH. That guy.

Yah. It is Durbin's turn now to jaw at us.

[Gman]

There's a great deal that could be done to make it better, I agree. But actions like this are akin to throwng the baby out with the bathwater.

The tactics being used right now are simply leverage to make the Fed. Govt. bigger and more influential in our everyday lives. It's absolutely not reducing the size of the Fed. Govt.

I'll be surprised if there's ever another approved annual budget (as dictated by the Constitution). They've turned this game of temporary government funding into a tool to make the government bigger and screw over their constituencies in favor of special interests.

[roberth]

You didn't get a bailout?

He's probably not a Wall Street banker who gave millions to the DNC.

Probably wasn't on Bush' list when Bush doled out our money to the bankers using the TARP program.

[Gman]

USAA is giving interest free payroll advances to military.

That's really cool. My sister's family is an Army family. They had to use WIC in their younger years just to feed the fam. My folks also helped them out when they needed it. They're at least doing a job that the Feds were Constitutionally mandated to do and they've paid mightily for our freedoms that we enjoy. Our troops and veterans should be a priority, but as usual, the Feds have made a mess of supporting them.

[cstone]

The size of the federal workforce should be reduced through nutrition.

That should save some bread.

[theGinsue]

USAA is giving interest free payroll advances to military.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/20/news...own/index.html

Thank heavens for USAA. I bitch about some of their policies and fee increases here and there but still stay with them because they stand with the troops when things get tough.

That's really cool. My sister's family is an Army family. They had to use WIC in their younger years just to feed the fam. My folks also helped them out when they needed it. They're at least doing a job that the Feds were Constitutionally mandated to do and they've paid mightily for our freedoms that we enjoy. Our troops and veterans should be a priority, but as usual, the Feds have made a mess of supporting them.

Yep, been there.

Through almost 3/4 of my Air Force career we didn't have spare money to drop into savings. We never owned a fancy car and the couple of new ones we bought were great deals on reliable vehicles. As with your sisters family, we did the best to live within our means, sometimes it wasn't quite enough but we adjusted and worked through it. Only on two occasions did we ask (and receive) family members for emergency loans. It made the critical difference in getting us through tight spots.

As a young troop with a family we relied on WIC for a couple of years. The nutritional requirements for food could be cumbersome but ensured my children had healthy food to eat. When we no longer needed WIC, we stopped participating, but while we needed it, it was a Godsend.

When we first moved to CO in '95 we bought a house. We bought the best home we could afford at the time (and still live in it). Because available housing was so limited at the time the house was actually cheaper than renting a 2 bedroom apartment. Still, with the house payment, etc. we had no spare money and lived paycheck to paycheck. I could have gotten out of the service and taken a private industry job, but that wouldn't satisfy my need to perform a service to our nation which was, and still is, important to me.

During my USAF career I endured a few .gov shutdowns. I can only recall one where my paycheck was delayed (there may have been more, but I don't recall) but when you're waiting for those dollars to come in to pay your bills it hurts, badly. The utility company doesn't care that you didn't receive your paycheck, they want their money.

I'm a .mil contractor now so I still feel like I'm serving the nation and providing for everyones safety. The difference now is that I'm being pay considerably better and have a little I can put into savings while paying it forward to my kids to help ensure they have the essentials for their families that they would otherwise have to do without. Luckily, the contract I'm on is paid out in advance enough that this shutdown shouldn't effect me. Through the years we've picked up a few nice things which make life worth living, but it's not like anything we have is particularly fancy.

With Congress still getting paid, and with the selfish & greedy attitude they have there is absolutely no incentive for them to come to a quick resolution to the problem. While most, if not all .fed employees aren't expecting their next paycheck until the 1st of the month they are concerned about the risks now. A wise person doesn't wait until they're completely out of water before they start to ration what they have when the spring dries up; you start worrying about it immediately and praying the water begins to flow before you run out. The longest .gov shutdown was 21 days. There is no guarantee this will not extend beyond that. For those folks, like our troops, who have just enough to get by, the threat and concern over not being able to pay their bills is very real.

"Drama"? Sure, there's drama. Anyone who can be directly effected by this would be foolish not to be concerned and with that comes drama. For those (looking at you Clodhopper) who can't at least empathize with this situation I feel very sorry for you as you must be very sad individuals.

[TheGrey]

+1 !

Eloquently stated!

[clodhopper]

Yay! I'm the darkhorse!

Ironic that so many claim I don't understand/empathize/have not lived the situation you might be in right now. When did you become an expert on my life experiences? You are farther off than you might think.

Ah well. The internet is the land of "who has more empathy", rather than a discussion of ideas or points of view.

If our govt wasn't so bloated and spending well beyond its means, this wouldn't have happened. But that would mean many of you would be in a different career than the one you currently have and may never have known the joys of government "service". Wait, was that coldhearted? hard for me to discern anymore.

Oh, and to your point Grey:
https://www.fedsmith.com/2018/01/18/...ghed-shutdown/
You'll get your back pay.