How's the partial federal government shutdown affecting you?

[tvguy]

Rather than judge, try and put yourself in other people's shoes. My cousin works for the TSA. He actually enjoys it and does a great job (personable guy). But his pay is not the kind of pay that allows you to rack up a huge emergency fund.

My husband and I currently have two kids in college and two at home. I've overcome cancer a few years ago and now put a lot of time into caring for my aging parents. We get it done and while we have DH's retirement, our "catastrophe" fund would likely be a credit card. It's just the way it is. DH is a teacher, I'm a nurse. I don't pull in what a banker does. You probably believe one of us should switch jobs to something more lucrative. But trust me, I'm a better nurse than I probably would be a banker.

As for you saying "not all jobs were meant to support a family"....well, that line burns me because I usually hear it from people that had jobs like that which DID support a family just a few decades ago. I know seniors who retired from a factory assembly line or a grocery store. Yes those people (or their offspring) are usually first to say "those jobs aren't meant to be livable". Shame on you for looking down on so many people.

Curious if you work, btw.

I think all of us understand unforeseen circumstances that impact savings. But also understand that some of us, look at the TSA pay scales for example, and are shocked at how good the pay is. $19.31 an hour starting wage for a job that only requires a high school diploma and no work experience.
And more importantly, in the case of unforeseen medical circumstances, the medical benefits.


https://work.chron.com/tsa-officers-make-16008.html

 

[tvguy]

You're looking at extreme circumstances. I've dealt with patients who had to decide whether to hold off on emergency surgery or not.

And let's be honest, that too is an extreme circumstance.

 

[barkley]

There is still 6 days before any federal employee has been without pay for even one day.

The next scheduled payday of 1/11/19 will be the first one missed.

No one should even be experiencing any hardship until day 21 of the shutdown.

Except the businesses that get most of their income from spending by government workers. Because in theory government workers have stopped spending on non essentials in preparation for 1/11/19.

this has been in the back of my mind when all of the discussions about the financial impact have been on the news (and everywhere else). i don't know how it works with contractors but when i was a government employee we were always paid WELL AFTER the fact. we received one monthly paycheck on the 10th based on earning in the PRIOR month so being in an unpaid status in one calendar month didn't impact our pay until the next.

i clearly remember how LONG it took to actually see any pay when i first hired on. i started on the 12th of december that year so it was about 50% of salary when the 10th of january's paycheck rolled out but after my pension deduction, initial union enrollment fee (mandatory) and double healthcare premiums (we paid premium a month before the covered month so the first check had to catch up to get us on schedule b/c our coverage had already started) there was'nt much left. it was a loooooooooooooong, tightly budgeted month to go before i saw a full paycheck.

no one liked the setup but when furloughs occurred or if a personal emergency happened causing allot of time off w/o pay we appreciated that the financial hit wasn't immediate (depending on how the dates fell we were generaly covered until unemployment or state disability insurance funds kicked in).

i think many more federal employees will see a greater impact w/their later in january/early february pay at which point allot of people will realize that either through circumstances or personal choices they've not been living paycheck to paycheck but living on PROJECTED earnings (much scarier place to be in imho).

 

[Christine]

I think all of us understand unforeseen circumstances that impact savings. But also understand that some of us, look at the TSA pay scales for example, and are shocked at how good the pay is. $19.31 an hour starting wage for a job that only requires a high school diploma and no work experience.
And more importantly, in the case of unforeseen medical circumstances, the medical benefits.


https://work.chron.com/tsa-officers-make-16008.html

What you've quoted is the mean salary. So that's the middle not the starting salary. And depends where you live. Here's some better information on pay for TSA officers who work at airports:

Unlike most federal agencies that use the general schedule (GS) grading system to determine salary ranges, the TSA uses an SV grading system, a discrete salary system with pay ranges that differ from the GS system. Airport security jobs typically begin at the D pay band, which is $25,518 to $38,277. The promotion potential is the E pay band, which is $29,302 to $44,007.

In addition to the base salary for TSA airport jobs, individuals may receive a locality pay, depending on where the job is located. For example, a transportation security officer in Gunnison, Colorado, earns a starting salary of between $29,422 and $44,134, which reflects a locality pay of 14.16 percent.

https://www.federallawenforcement.org/tsa/

 

[luvsJack]

As I have said I understand exceptions but do not understand the lack of planning.

Let me tell you a little story. 20 something year old from a good family. She gets married, husband works offshore and has a great job. She goes to college and gets a job at a fed site. They have a child and are seemingly happily married. Before child is one, her parents are killed in a car wreck. 2 months later, out of the blue, her husband comes home and moves out. Leaves her nothing but the bills, cleans out their savings and checking account. Quits his job and she has no clue where he is or how to find him. That was 6 months ago.

Now she is supporting that child on her own, working the fed site job and still trying to finish school. She is getting through the best she can while trying to get to a better place. And now she just got furloughed.

Whatever her last check was, is it. No she hasn’t missed one yet but that doesn’t stop the panic.

She should have savings but she doesn’t because she can’t. She could work two jobs but she would have to pay twice as much in childcare so what exactly would the point be?

How exactly would you have planned for that? Should she have had a crystal ball?

 

[LSUmiss]

You're looking at extreme circumstances. I've dealt with patients who had to decide whether to hold off on emergency surgery or not.

Right, some ppl believe ppl like that are the majority but in my experience those are the extremes.

 

[tcufrog]

The shutdown has affected my family. My parents planned for retirement. They couldn't plan for a lavish retirement but they saved enough to get by. My mom developed immune system problems and is now disabled. Medical bills wiped out their savings and my dad can't work anymore. They rely on federal benefits to prevent themselves from becoming homeless. Recently their benefits were cut with no explanation. They can't fix the problem or find out why until the shutdown is over and I doubt they will get the missing money.

My MIL is a widow and my DH is her only son. She's from another country and was, until recently, dividing her time between her birth country and our house. She's having more and more trouble making the trip and eventually, she won't be able to do so at all. Before the shutdown, we applied for citizenship for her. Her case is on hold during the shutdown.

 

[wgeo]

And what about the people that did plan - those ones that have the money but are having to decide if they should take it out of a savings account or if they need to dip into a different account. The uncertainty over how long this may last, the fact that they are possible losing interest on that money. Those that have vacations affected, and are just not able to plan like they normally do. I feel bad for them. Sure they agreed to take a job with the fed, but I still feel bad that their lives are disrupted.

It's the same way I feel bad for people who end up being affected by wildfires/hurricanes/tornadoes/earthquakes. Yes, they chose to live in an area of the country affected by that particular weather, but I still feel bad for them when they are affected by it.

But to specifically address the very first question - no for my family personally we have not yet felt any direct/specific effect from the shutdown.

 

[Colleen27]

As I have said I understand exceptions but do not understand the lack of planning.

But are they exceptions? Or are all of those circumstances - a new baby, elder care, medical bills, college costs, etc. - so much a part of our collective experience that it is just a part of life? I don't think it takes anything exceptional to end up living paycheck to paycheck for a period of time.

Yup. It is even more horrifying when you see those financial shows and they go over people's income and spending and realize they had PLENTY of money coming in to save, they made a choice to spend it. The one woman featured on "Till Debt Do Us Part" who sincerely believed that most women working in an office spend $500 a month on new clothing for work! Needless to say the was the first thing Gail Vaz-Oxlade cut.

But that's TV! It is, by definition, the exception. There wouldn't be anything watch-worthy about a family that is struggling because of daycare costs but could cut out the weekly pizza night and use that $40 savings to build up a reasonable emergency fund as long as nothing goes wrong for the next 10 years.

I think all of us understand unforeseen circumstances that impact savings. But also understand that some of us, look at the TSA pay scales for example, and are shocked at how good the pay is. $19.31 an hour starting wage for a job that only requires a high school diploma and no work experience.
And more importantly, in the case of unforeseen medical circumstances, the medical benefits.


https://work.chron.com/tsa-officers-make-16008.html

Per your own article, that's the mean. Not the starting pay. And that's a whopping 40K/year... significantly less than the U.S. median income.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

On a not so serious tone was reading local news article regarding several breweries in the area being impacted by the shut down. The way that they are is they are unable to get new beer labels approved including brand new and new ones already awaiting lables to be approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (this affects other breweries though not just local ones). They did say there may be a point where summer releases that companies have planned could be impacted the longer the time goes.

*Sorry just trying to interject a slightly less serious tone here at the present moment.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I think all of us understand unforeseen circumstances that impact savings. But also understand that some of us, look at the TSA pay scales for example, and are shocked at how good the pay is. $19.31 an hour starting wage for a job that only requires a high school diploma and no work experience.
And more importantly, in the case of unforeseen medical circumstances, the medical benefits.


https://work.chron.com/tsa-officers-make-16008.html

Is that a bad thing??? Why is that shocking?

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

It is soooooo sad and disturbing the people that seem to think you should just be prepared for this or for any other natural disaster and if not, well that's your own fault! Yes we should try but come on pretty cold and heartless. And for the record, I don't think most are prepared for the games going on nowadays and that's all they are, negatively affecting people's lives just for ego, pride and posturing.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I have said there are exceptions, but those exceptions are not an excuse for the other 97% of people.

Most people are in dire financial straits not because of one tragic incident but because they made 1000's of tiny bad financial decisions.

Where do you get your info from? SMH

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

I think all of us understand unforeseen circumstances that impact savings. But also understand that some of us, look at the TSA pay scales for example, and are shocked at how good the pay is. $19.31 an hour starting wage for a job that only requires a high school diploma and no work experience.
And more importantly, in the case of unforeseen medical circumstances, the medical benefits.


https://work.chron.com/tsa-officers-make-16008.html

As others have pointed out, those salaries are the mean. Aside from that, why do you have a problem with them getting paid well. Those that worked in factories up until the 80s had no more than a high school education and were trained on the job. They were given a very good living wage. So should those without college degrees not have jobs that "were meant to be long term and have a family"?

And let's be honest, that too is an extreme circumstance.

I've seen it a few times. But people not being able to afford their medications is VERY prevalent. You know what else isn't extreme, sudden SOL diagnoses. Way back when I was doing my nursing school home care rotation, in just a few days I met a 26 year old young man with an inexplicable cause of heart failure, a young woman who became the sole income earner after her husband of one year started surprisingly quick MS progressions, a man no longer walking d/t being hit by a drunk driver, and a family breaking themselves financially trying to save their toddler child from pediatric cancer.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

It is soooooo sad and disturbing the people that seem to think you should just be prepared for this or for any other natural disaster and if not, well that's your own fault! Yes we should try but come on pretty cold and heartless. And for the record, I don't think most are prepared for the games going on nowadays and that's all they are, negatively affecting people's lives just for ego, pride and posturing.

In my experience, those that brag about being prepared and look down on those not prepared, are usually lying or deluding themselves.

 

[underdesea]

In my experience, those that brag about being prepared and look down on those not prepared, are usually lying or deluding themselves.

Or just enjoy making themselves feel morally superior for some reason. Why someone feels compelled to do that, I have no idea. Especially at the expense of others going through a tough time. The world needs more compassion, not less, imho.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Or just enjoy making themselves feel morally superior for some reason. Why someone feels compelled to do that, I have no idea. Especially at the expense of others going through a tough time. The world needs more compassion, not less, imho.

Great post!

 

[dclpluto]

I think all of us understand unforeseen circumstances that impact savings. But also understand that some of us, look at the TSA pay scales for example, and are shocked at how good the pay is. $19.31 an hour starting wage for a job that only requires a high school diploma and no work experience.
And more importantly, in the case of unforeseen medical circumstances, the medical benefits.


https://work.chron.com/tsa-officers-make-16008.html

Don’t know why you will bring this up in this thread. Are you trying to put down tsa employees or everyone here that just has a high school diploma?

 

[Hikergirl]

Wow the drama is high on this one.
We've got it all, the cold and heartless who believe they are morally superior because they believe in personal responsibility and the sanctimonious high horse riders who disagree with them.

 

[underdesea]

Don’t know why you will bring this up in this thread. Are you trying to put down tsa employees are everyone here that just has a high school diploma?

I can't imagine the stress of a TSA agent. It's a thankless job, it seems to me. Tons of responsibility and plenty of people who are impatient, stressed and irritated at the process.