Here We Go Again - Another Federal Government Shutdown?

Egads.  Its happening again!

The Obama administration has begun formal preparations for a partial government shutdown next week:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/22/white-house-starts-shutdown-ball-rolling

The Huffington Post reports that one of the most significant outcomes of the 2013 shutdown was that it led to the temporary closure of the Department of the Interior, which provoked “public outrage” as it meant the closure of National Parks – ruining family vacations, weddings, and costing the government $414 million in lost revenue:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/interior-department-government-shutdown_55f84e34e4b09ecde1d9d12e

Last week Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced a bill assuring that all of the 2.7 million federal workers eventually would be paid if the government shuts down:

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/09/21/Another-Government-Shutdown-Washington-Prepares-Nervous-Breakdown 

A government shutdown: What federal employees need to know about their pay and benefits:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/18/what-happens-to-federal-employee-pay-benefits-in-a-shutdown

The Washington Post published an article on 10/16/13:

"Furloughed employees typically would return on day after shutdown ends"

 Here is a link to this article:

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/10/16/furloughed-employees-typically-would-return-on-day-after-shutdown-ends 

Statistics of the Lives of Furloughed Federal Employees

I will be interested to see statistics after this shut down is over.
I wonder...
What percentage of furloughed federal employees:

1.  Took out loans against their Thrift Savings Plan
2.  Took out loans from credit unions
3.  Took out loans from banks
4.  Were forced to file bankruptcy
5.  Filed for unemployment
6.  Sold off some possessions on Craig's List, Ebay, etc.
7.  Sex Life improved significantly
8.  Sex Life eroded significantly
9.  Obsessive-compulsive employees ended up with a spic-and-span clean house
10.  Grew a beard
11.  Slept in until noon or later with frequency
12.  Stayed up after midnight since they weren't working
13.  Their pets appeared visibly more happier/content and their behavior improved.
14.  Lost weight intentionally
15.  Gained weight
16.  Lost weight unintentionally
17.  Finished previously unfinished projects
18.  Accomplished major accomplishments
19.  Decided to change careers
20.  Made other major life-changing decisions 
21.  Quality of life improved substantially
22.  Quality of life deteriorated significantly
23.  Got sick more
24.  Health improved
25.  Quality of sleep improved
26.  Quality of sleep became impaired/worsened
27.  Came up with significant creative ideas
28.  Dream activity while sleeping improved
29.  Dream activity while sleeping worsened, had nightmares, etc.
30.  Communications improved with family, relatives & friends i.e. in person, via email, via phone, etc.
31.  Social activity significantly decreased
32.  Social activity significantly increased
33.  Updated their resumes
34.  Applied for other jobs
35.  Considered quitting or leaving their current federal job to go to private industry
36.  Considered moving out of the United States
37.  Decided to quit or to leave their current federal job to go to private industry
38.  Decided to move out of the United States
39.  Decided to retire
40.  Decided to delay their retirement
41.  Changed their distribution of funds in their Thrift Savings Plan retirement accounts
42.  Decided to sell their homes
43.  Decided to move
44.  Became more neurotic
45.  Became more uninhibited
46.  Sense of humor improved
47.  Sense of humor dwindled
48.  Attitude became more positive
49.  Attitude became more negative
50.  Spent more time at home on the internet
51.  Spent less time at home on the internet
52.  Watched more tv
53.  Watched less tv
54.  Took a trip or two within a day's drive
55.  Took a trip or two out of state
56.  Took a major trip far from home i.e. across the country, to another country
57.  Reassessed their career stance and plans and life plans in a major way
58.  Those who weren't depressed developed significant depression
59.  Those previously depressed had their depression significantly worsen
60.  Let their housework deteriorate and they lived in a mess of squalor.
61.   Fell in love
62.  Fell out of love
63.  Initiated divorce proceedings or had their spouse initiate divorce proceedings
64.  Died of stress-related causes
65.  Died of other causes
66.  Created blogs about the shutdown and furlough
67.  Cried because of the furlough and shutdown
68.  Laughed because of the furlough and shutdown
69.  Became deliriously happy due to the furlough and shutdown
70.  Stayed intoxicated or indulged in drug or alcohol abuse during the furlough and shutdown
71.  If previously addicted, their addictions worsened significantly
72.  Quit smoking cigarettes
73.  Smoked considerably more cigarettes
74.  Blew money indulging in luxuries they never have time to participate in while working i.e. massage, etc.
75.  Didn't go anywhere and were very tight with money because they were furloughed
76.  Friends and family shunned them because they were furloughed
77.  Experienced haughty comments from others who are envious of or despise federal employees
78.  Grew very bored
79.  Were never bored
80.  Altered their Christmas spending budget
81.  Experienced catastrophic life events on top of being furloughed

For Furloughed Federal Employees, No Paid Sick or Annual Leave

Fed Smith has an in-depth article worthy of a read published 10-10-13:

"No Paid Sick or Annual Leave. What About FMLA Leave for Excepted Employees?"

A link to this article is found below.

http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/10/10/no-paid-sick-or-annual-leave-what-about-fmla-leave-for-excepted-employees 

 

Fed-up feds: Many decry 'morale-sucking environment

Federal Times has an article "Fed-up feds: Many decry 'morale-sucking environment" published 10-8-13.

Here is a link to that article:

http://www.federaltimes.com/interactive/article/20131007/AGENCY01/310070009/Fed-up-feds-Many-decry-morale-sucking-environment-

Unfurlough.us: Website Helps Furloughed Employees Start Up Freelance Businesses

Unfurlough.us is a website that connects furloughed federal employees with freelance start-up projects.  Start-up gigs are posted that they can respond to, and freelancers can post their qualifications & resumes in case a company is looking for something specific.

Here is the link to this 10-10-13 article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2013/1010/Government-shutdown-Unfurlough.us-connects-federal-workers-with-start-ups

Shutdown / Furlough Humor: The siren call of the BlackBerry for furloughed federal workers

The Washington Post has a great article with some humor interjected:

"The siren call of the BlackBerry for furloughed federal workers"


A link to this article is below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-siren-call-of-the-blackberry-for-furloughed-federal-workers/2013/10/09/62dc407c-3102-11e3-8627-c5d7de0a046b_story.html

Furloughed federal workers could get jobless benefits and back pay, then pay back benefits

AL.com has an article "Furloughed federal workers could get jobless benefits and back pay, then pay back benefits".
A link to this article is below.

http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/10/furloughed_federal_workers_cou.html

Tips for Furloughed Federal Workers - Filing a Claim

The Federal Department of Labor has a document with information for furloughed federal employees as to how they should prepare and file an umployment claim:

"Tips for Furloughed Federal Workers - Filing a Claim"

The pdf document is found at the link below:

http://www.dol.gov/sequestration/ucfe.pdf

Federal Workers Get 60 Percent Check on Friday

The Statesman Journal has an article "Federal Workers Get 60 Percent Check on Friday".
Below is a link to this article:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20131008/UPDATE/131008019/Federal-workers-get-60-percent-check-Friday

House Unlikely to Pass Debt Ceiling Bill This Week

House Unlikely to Pass Debt Ceiling Bill This Week

Click link below for article:

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/house-debt-ceiling-bill-97950.html#ixzz2h52d1hXy

At Least 24,000 Federal Workers File for Unemployment in D.C., Maryland

At Least 24,000 Federal Workers File for Unemployment in D.C., Maryland

Click link below for article:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/At-Least-24000-File-for-Unemployment-in-DC-Maryland-226783761.html 

Obama to Boehner: No talks until government opens

Obama to Boehner: No talks until government opens 

Click below for the 10-8-13 article:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BUDGET_BATTLE?SITE=MOSTP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-08-13-13-34

Republicans May Tie Federal Paychecks To Shutdown Negotiations

Click below for the 10-7-13 article:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/republicans-may-tie-federal-paychecks-to-shutdown-negotiatio

Good News: House Passes Retroactive Pay Legislation for Federal Employees October 5 2013

Good News:  The House passed retroactive pay legislation for furloughed federal employees:

October 5 2013

http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/10/05/house-passes-retroactive-pay-legislation

Some Thoughts on the Shutdown

Today was the first day of the federal government shutdown, and was the first day I was furloughed.
Since I've had a day to let it all sink in, here are a few of my thoughts about it.

Our office is a team.
We live in a small town, and people are a pretty close-knit team at our office.
When they let everyone go today, they all trickled out of the building and that was that.

I wish there would have been some indication of solidarity amongst us.
Some sort of encouraging words spoken by the managers, to the effect of "you are valuable to us, and I'm sorry this has to happen, and there is nothing we can do about it, but we want you to know that we care about you personally and for your families and all those affected by this".

It was more like, they told us the regs, the procedures and what to expect procedurally, but nothing else really.
And to check the news, we should keep tabs on it if the shutdown ends and report to work.
And hopefully our managers will call us to let us know we can return to work.
But it was somewhat vague, and a little disconcerting.

My manager I could tell was very tired; stressed and just wanted to get out of there.
He even told me to hurry up and leave.
I had to take a few moments to collect my personal items, to water my plants, and mentally prepare myself to exit those doors.

Several co-workers I have emails for and phone numbers, so we'll be in touch.
But in meantime, its more or less each man is on his own, you gotta fend for yourself, and there is really no support system amongst us after the shutdown.

Perhaps a suggested meeting every few days - a casual non-work meeting could have been suggested, if people just wanted to talk and get together, outside of work.
But nothing like that was suggested.
So those are my thoughts.

The Federal Government Shutdown

If you're currently a federal employee, you probably feel like this guy who is about to exit a plane!

And you probably feel like the driver of the red car in this photo!

I've compiled a list on the first several posts of this blog of links to news on the government shutdown, furloughs, links for federal employees regarding same.

Also I posted many other links to news and alternative news.
Just scroll to bottom of page, and click previous posts to get to first posts.

Links to Alternative News Sites with RSS Feeds

Alternative sites with RSS feeds:

AlterNet
Common Dreams News Center
Common Dreams Progressive Newswire
Independent Media Center
globalinfo.org
AllAfrica.com
Bear Left

http://cromalternativemoney.org/news.html

http://blog.t1production.com