If I was on this list I would be pi$$ed

[bersaguy]

If the Government shuts down and I got furloughed I would thoroughly pi$$ed to be told that my job was Non-essential. That is demeaning, disrespectful and maybe even racist in certain term but what really caught my eye is our tax dollars are paying salaries for 800,000 non-essential positions in Washington!!!!  If they are non essential employees why do they have jobs? And you can bet I hope they don't get any back pay for being furloughed as  non-essential employees in the first place.............jmho.  Now I am speaking strictly employees in Washington and not park employees. I consider them essential for the American people to enjoy our great natural resources. As far as I'm concerned that guy that sits behind that desk in the Oval office and has play like 400 rounds of golf and flies around in Air Force 1 since being employed is the most non essential employee in all of Washington DC at the present time........again.........jmho

 

Will you notice a government shutdown?

Yes, particularly if it lasts a few days or more. If you're one of the 800,000 federal workers who are deemed as non-essential, you will be directly affected immediately and not report to work. But the implications go well beyond Washington. If you're applying for a passport or visa, you will likely be out of luck. First-time home buyers looking for a mortgage will be delayed because the Federal Housing Administration will be closed. And the 401 national parks will be off-limits starting Tuesday morning. The biggest fear for hundreds of thousands of federal workers - and members of the military - will be if they receive back pay. In the last shutdown nearly two decades ago, workers received lost wages. That's not guaranteed this time. And why everyone should care: a shutdown will cost, not save, taxpayers' money. A study from the Office of Management and Budget puts the overall economic price tag for a shutdown around $2 billion.

[Major Kong]

The term is now excepted or non-excepted. Someone got offended by being told they were non-essential. Non-essential (non-excepted) doesn't mean the job shouldn't be there. It is a skeleton crew, the bare minimum required to keep the lights on, not run the mission.

It's not just Washington employees. Dual status military technicians (like me) all over the country will be out of work too.

[bersaguy]

Well I don't want any one in the military to be effected and I don't consider anyone in our military non-essential period so I am sorry if I included anyone military related as part of this. No disrespect to you or anyone in your position but 800,000 is a hell of a skeleton crew..........jmho   I was referring more to people like Obama's dog trainers and people in that levels of employment. 

[mikegideon]

I doubt that they let it last very long.  Being classed non-essential wouldn't bother me personally. I think folks might be amazed how small it could get if they were just carrying out the founders' vision.

[Oh Shoot]

...

Yes, particularly if it lasts a few days or more. If you're one of the 800,000 federal workers who are deemed as non-essential, you will be directly affected immediately and not report to work. But the implications go well beyond Washington.....

 

Which is all a good argument that the GOP is tilting at the wrong windmill, especially since even if the ACA defunding provision in the CR had passed, it wouldn't affect Obamacare implementation hardly at all.

 

- OS

Edited September 29, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[173rdABN]

This shutdown will also kill. Military pensions and disability payments.

If that includes any of you the VA said it will go bankrupt in 2-3 weeks if they pay those checks out to people with no income from the gooberment. So they said if it lasts longer than 2-3 weeks, they won't pay out.

[TMF]

So long as all the people on welfare keep getting paid. Those people are the backbone of this country.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

The house passed a separate bill doing nothing but continuing military pay and benefits, so even with a shutdown, the ONLY reason military would miss a paycheck is if Reid wont let the bill be voted on, or if obama vetoes the bill.

[mikegideon]

The house passed a separate bill doing nothing but continuing military pay and benefits, so even with a shutdown, the ONLY reason military would miss a paycheck is if Reid wont let the bill be voted on, or if obama vetoes the bill.

 

No need for a military anymore, now that Oblamma is rimming the head knocker in Iran. He's gonna use his dynamic personality and wiggly tongue to render all armed conflict obsolete. :) 

[JWC]

With some seriousness aside.. Does anyone else think like: "hmmm gubment shutdown, a day or two they won't be focused on screwin' us with something else. I hope they work something out short term and then they have to argue over this crap for a year or two. Keeps em from making new infringing laws."

[jbravo]

If the government gets shut down, and that's a big if, it would only be for a couple of days. The republicans will cave on this and Obama will get everything he wants just as he has for his whole presidency. Just look at how the republican leadership in the senate has talked on the news shows all weekend. They seem to think that when obamacare gets implemented, the democrats will take the hit with the voters. I don't agree, but that's what they think. When obamacare fails, the republicans will get the blame as they always do.

[Sam1]

Kong, it's not excepted or non-excepted. That label is used for a different description/categorization.

Essential/non-essential is like the difference between a fire fighter and the maintenance man that works on the fire house.

[TMF]

With some seriousness aside.. Does anyone else think like: "hmmm gubment shutdown, a day or two they won't be focused on screwin' us with something else. I hope they work something out short term and then they have to argue over this crap for a year or two. Keeps em from making new infringing laws."

You're assuming that reading your emails and databasing all your phone calls is not essential work.

[DWARREN123]

I am on the list and not rich but I hope it shuts down. Hell I would like to see all the politicians get fired. Not too much to pay for real government.

[JWC]

You're assuming that reading your emails and databasing all your phone calls is not essential work.

My email is non-essential to me, surely no one's reading it.

[DaveS]

I am on the list and not rich but I hope it shuts down. Hell I would like to see all the politicians get fired. Not too much to pay for real government.

Same here!

 

DS

[Major Kong]

Kong, it's not excepted or non-excepted. That label is used for a different description/categorization.

Essential/non-essential is like the difference between a fire fighter and the maintenance man that works on the fire house.

Okay, I guess the briefing I got on it last week was incorrect. I'll let the boss know.

[QuietDan]

I'd like the House of Representatives to take a stand and BE what the House of Representatives is supposed to be, keeper of the purse-strings, our immediate voice in government. I'd like to see continuing resolutions for the essential federal departments, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, etc, etc. I'd like to see the EPA and the Department of Education NOT have a continuing resolution.

 

We've got a totally out of control and arrogant dictator instead of a president and he needs to be hauled up short by his oysters. De-fund fuel for Air Force One and de-fund his damn golf games. He's lording himself with our money, he's paying his cronies with our money, and at least for a little while he needs to be told NO when he comes to mommy and daddy for spending money.

 

We're always talking about how big and wasteful the federal government is, perhaps big parts of it need to be SHUT DOWN until the budget balances. Two or three years of no EPA and a few of the other wasteful departments and I doubt most of us would even notice it except to sing glory hallelujah.

Edited September 30, 2013 by QuietDan

[Dolomite_supafly]

This shutdown will also kill. Military pensions and disability payments.

If that includes any of you the VA said it will go bankrupt in 2-3 weeks if they pay those checks out to people with no income from the gooberment. So they said if it lasts longer than 2-3 weeks, they won't pay out.

 

Link?

[Jonnin]

If they drag it out it will hurt a lot of people.   If you hire someone to do a job, you pay them.  You don't cut them loose without warning or force them to take unpaid vacation on a whim either.  I can think of thousands of ways to deal with this in a better way that does not hurt the little people (meanwhile congress draws their wages without any problems).   All they have to do is keep the people working and pay them back in a week or 2 when this is resolved.  It WILL be resolved.  We KNOW that.  So delay their paychecks by a week or so, let them OPT to take the unpaid vacations if they WANT, but if they need the money let them work and pay them when it is all straightened out.   Its not that complicated.

[mav]

I noticed the unions are now demanding back pay if the government shuts down.  What a joke.  Back pay for what, sitting on your ass?

 

Ya know, I do feel some what sorry for those who may be hurt because of this shutdown.  However, when I hear this kind of nonsense coming from the union-folks, my attitude starts to change.  I become agitated and start making claims like a lot of those public sectors jobs wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the private sector. 

 

Perhaps we should transfer a lot of those public sector jobs to the private sector.  If we did that, the affected public sector employees would no longer have to worry about losing their job due to a government shutdown.

[seez52]

If there's back pay for the shutdown, shouldn't we start calling it a vacation instead?

[TMF]

If there's back pay for the shutdown, shouldn't we start calling it a vacation instead?

For the military, no. They work without pay if they get affected and get an IOU. Not likely that it will happen, but if it does every last politician should be tossed into a volcano. Every last one of them.

[Major Kong]

For the military, no. They work without pay if they get affected and get an IOU. Not likely that it will happen, but if it does every last politician should be tossed into a volcano. Every last one of them.

Even if it doesn't happen that doesn't sound like a bad idea.

[Jonnin]

If the public sector jobs went private, that would be a good thing --- except the govt would STILL need some of those services unless they downsize (another issue, I am all for it, but not gonna happen).  So now the private businesses are contracted to work for the feds... and the feds suddenly at random stop paying, now what?   That is not a good scenario either. 

 

The real fix is to downsize govt so it does not need milllions of people drawing pay daily.   But as I said, not gonna happen in my lifetime.  The other fix is to stop wasting money somewhere else (tons of places to pick from, my favorite is to cut all foreign aid 100% across the board by law until we have no debt).