What's the magic of February 8th? Is that a serious proposal, or just another bit of congressional theater (since I hear it will never pass).

Would there really be a scenario where the government would re-open for 2 weeks, then shut down again? I can't imagine that would play well at all.

quote:

What's the magic of February 8th?

You mean aside from it being the day a very special WTF member was born?

A shutdown update: the injustice continues.

You may recall that one of my police cases requires my colleagues and me to work during the shutdown because the judge does not wish to delay the case.

Well, one of my colleagues is an amazing craftsman and can make good money making the things he makes. He got a large contract to make one of the things, so he drove to his home town 13 hours away where his studio is to make the thing. He needs the money if the government isn't going to pay him, and he planned to stay there making as much money as he could to support his family. A few days after he left, he was asked to return to DC for a meeting and a court appearance. This would have required him to drive 13 hours each way at his expense.

I realized that our agency's travel policy is that if you are on personal leave and the government wants to interrupt your personal leave and make you go somewhere on business, the government has to pay to fly you to the place and then fly you back so you can finish your vacation. Citing that policy, my colleague asked that if the government wanted to ask him to return to DC for the meeting and court appearance (unpaid), the government should buy him a plane ticket.

Request denied. The reasoning was that the employee is not on "personal leave" because no one is allowed to use personal leave during a shutdown. So if you leave town for any reason and are called back to work unpaid, tough luck.

In other news, our transit subsidy will end this weekend, so any federal workers who are being forced to work without pay now have to pay for their commute.

Next month, the government will stop paying for our dental and vision insurance, and we will have to pay it ourselves if we want to avoid a lapse in coverage. For now, we still have medical insurance.

I covered the meeting and court appearance for my colleague to spare him a 26-hour drive. I worked 14 hours the first day and 10 hours the second day. Unpaid.

Are you marching yet? Or organizing a march? Seems like the only answer is to strike.

It's crazy. Sorry you're going through this, Cindy.

As wtg reported in the other thread, the Commerce Secretary suggests low interest loans, since the money is already government guaranteed.

9% loans.

I swear, it would not surprise me to hear one of these idiots say "let them eat cake".

pique, I do not know whether DoJ lawyers are allowed to strike. I tend to doubt it, because lawyers are considered exempt for many purposes, but I confess that I do not know.

And I do recall the example Ronald Reagan made of the air traffic controllers. That did not end well.

Well, the sick-out remains a possible pathway to protest.

Wilbur Ross should be drawn and quartered ... verbally, of course.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Well, the sick-out remains a possible pathway to protest.

Wilbur Ross should be drawn and quartered ... verbally, of course.

You could have meant literally, but that would be wrong.

It’s surprising how fast you run out of money when your income stops cold.

I had to go to the bank this week and ask them to reverse overdraft fees. I mean, we’re not poor, but we’re not very liquid either. When the primary breadwinner’s income stop, things get urgent.

In October, my mom died, and we incurred big expenses getting everyone across country for the funeral.

In December, I moved my dad to Arizona to Denver and into assisted living. More expenses.

In December, LS got his wisdom teeth out, we bought a used car, and put tires on my car. We also replaced our broken oven and dangerous cooktop and fixed a big basement leak. More expenses.

In January, we moved my mother in law into assisted living. More expenses. And we had to lend her thousands to transition out of nursing into assisted living, and that has not been repaid.

In January, federal and state quarterly estimated taxes were due.

And that is how a stable family winds up asking the bank to waive overdraft fees.

So we have to look at next steps to shake loose liquid funds. It’s not a huge deal, but we would have delayed a few things had we known my income would stop.

And we need to shake down my 92 year old, almost blind and deaf MIL for cash. I never thought I’d see the day.

So sorry to hear about your mom's passing, Cindy. Between that and all the other things going on, you've got a plateful.

Hang in there.

Breakin' Nooz!

Individual 1 is announcing a temporary end to the partial shutdown.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47007081

quote:

So sorry to hear about your mom's passing, Cindy. Between that and all the other things going on, you've got a plateful.

Indeed. One day at a time ...

So *his* shutdown is over.

I'm sure the next one will be blamed on someone else.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Wilbur Ross should be drawn and quartered ... verbally, of course.

You mean you don’t want to give him control of every major corporation in America?

quote:

Originally posted by well-tempered gardener:
So *his* shutdown is over.

I'm sure he will blame the next one on someone else.

FIFY