In 2013 I got a 2.5 week unpaid vacation from my job. My start date with my new job was pushed back a day because the government still wasn’t open. And it may happen again. The government runs out of money Sept. 30th. In less than three weeks, Congress needs to come up with an approved spending plan for the next year.
Or it shuts down. Again.
Republicans are going to get blamed for a shutdown, no matter what happens, by the general public,” said Stan Collender, a budget analyst and executive vice president at Qorvis MSLGroup in Washington. “They have too much baggage, too much history and it only seems to happen on their watch. But I don’t think they care.
They don’t care. They think they can “win” somehow by shutting the government down again.
Apparently 2013 is too far away for them to remember?
Q. I hear Ted Cruz is involved. Didn’t he have something to do with the last shutdown?
A. That’s right. In September 2013, Republicans led by the Texas senator — who is now running for president — insisted on shutting off spending for the Affordable Care Act. (You may recall him reading Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham” from the Senate floor.) Obama refused, and the government closed down for the first 16 days of October. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors were furloughed and federal services including national parks were closed. Republicans relented after public opinion turned against them. (Emphasis mine.)
If they shut the government down again, I don’t work.
I don’t get paid.
I don’t get back pay like Federal Employees do.
I don’t get to pay my bills.
I get sent on an unpaid vacation without a firm end date.
It happened to me in 2013.
If it happens again, it’s going to be a huge burden on myself and my family.
I am just one of hundreds of thousands of government contractors working in all areas of government who will be harmed by this. I don’t want it to happen again. I can’t afford for it to happen again.
There used to be a time when government jobs were desirable (and I’m sure they still are if you’re a Federal Employee). But for contractors supporting the government in roles they’ll never hire, it’s increasingly a risky proposition.