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

[tnguy]

I don't think it's so linear though. In DC there are honest folks like you and I who work just like anywhere else. The only difference is the clientele works for the gov. I can't blame a person who washes dishes or sells insurance in DC just because they live there. I don't think that should be a deciding factor when it comes to the size of our government, but I certainly empathize with their situation. Not getting paid sucks, especially when you're doing honest work. The dishonest work our gov is up to doesn't involve the person changing oil on the beltway.

 

They're getting paid with your money.

[tnguy]

Dante: My friend is trying to convince me that any contractors working on the uncompleted Death Star were innocent victims when the space station was destroyed by the rebels.
Blue-Collar Man: Well, I'm a contractor myself. I'm a roofer... (digs into pocket and produces business card) Dunn and Reddy Home Improvements. And speaking as a roofer, I can say that a roofer's personal politics come heavily into play when choosing jobs.
Randal: Like when?
Blue-Collar Man: Three months ago I was offered a job up in the hills. A beautiful house with tons of property. It was a simple reshingling job, but I was told that if it was finished within a day, my price would be doubled. Then I realized whose house it was.
Dante: Whose house was it?
Blue-Collar Man: Dominick Bambino's.
Randal: "Babyface" Bambino? The gangster?
Blue-Collar Man: The same. The money was right, but the risk was too big. I knew who he was, and based on that, I passed the job on to a friend of mine.
Dante: Based on personal politics.
Blue-Collar Man: Right. And that week, the Foresci family put a hit on Babyface's house. My friend was shot and killed. He wasn't even finished shingling.
Randal: No way!
Blue-Collar Man: (paying for coffee) I'm alive because I knew there were risks involved taking on that particular client. My friend wasn't so lucky. (pauses to reflect) You know, any contractor willing to work on that Death Star knew the risks. If they were killed, it was their own fault. A roofer listens to this... (taps his heart) not his wallet.

 

[TMF]

They're getting paid with your money.

No that's not how it works. I was in the army, so I was getting paid with tax dollars. If I go and spend the money I earn on hookers and blow, that isn't the tax payer's money being spent on hookers and blow, it's my money.

[tnguy]

Fair point. Though I'd suggest that there's a lot being paid for directly with taxpayers money.

[TMF]

Fair point. Though I'd suggest that there's a lot being paid for directly with taxpayers money.

Probably, but that is a constant. Not on hookers and blow though. The Secret Service has shown they don't follow through on payment with prostitutes. Pretty stingy when you consider the per diem rates they're pulling down.

[Jonnin]

Jonnin, that is the way it is in the private sector too.  How many stories have we read were companies have been ran into the ground by poor management?  Then we find out that the upper management will be taken care of via golden parachutes, etc... while the rest of the workers take it up the rear.  The public sector workforce shouldn't receive any kind of protection (at taxpayer's expense) that we in the private sector do not receive.

 

Agreed.  The point was that with this situation the folks getting screwed are in limbo, neither able to work but not really out of a job either.  All I was saying is they should continue to work (optional: take the time off if desired) and be paid once the situation is resolved (no resolution, they may have to quit eventually, losing a few days worth of pay on the gamble).   Which would be treating them exactly like congress etc, pretty equal for everyone across the board that way.   There would not be any extra taxpayer expense: they are already paid via taxes, true, and will be again inside a week. 

 

Out here in the private sector, this does not generally happen.   We are laid off, and go away to find a new job, or we are cut down to part time and choose to go or stay, etc.   Stuff happens, but most of the time, in the private sector, it is with more warning and the future is more clear, the decision to stay or quit (if there is one) is easier to figure out etc.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Jonnin

[tnguy]

They should do like they do with the pope and seal them all in a small room forever until everything is resolved

[mikegideon]

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

 

The biggest grease fire in the history of the planet :)