This is not an easy solution. Even people in the private sector are being affected. If you work for a goverrnment contractor supporting a contract with the federal government in an agency that is not funded, you also do not work. Contractors do not get paid for the time they are not working. This is affecting far more than the federal employees. Employees are working without pay and now have to figure out how they are going to pay their commuting costs. I know many who have to choose between getting to work and eating. Thank goodness so many organizations are setting up food banks to help people feed their families. If you are required to work and do not show up, you are considered AWOL and can be terminated. I can go on and on as I live in the DC area and know many people who this is affecting, including my own daughter who has to go to work everyday.
I was just thinking about this last night. H is a Fed (furloughed, not working) but we know of a couple who are both Feds and impacted. A lot of people online suggest that TSA should do a walkout but Air Traffic Controllers were fired - and banned for life from those positions - for walking out in the 80's. This article is a couple days old but it talks about both striking being illegal and financial reality pushing some people out into the job market*:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/us/politics/shutdown-federal-workers-strike.html
One thing I think gets short shrift is that for many people - including my husband - this is his dream job. He has a very specific skillset that very few people in the world have and he's able to use those skills in service to his country. Now, while very few people share his qualifications, thousands applied for his position. He had to beat them all out. Then he had to go through a months long background check with the FBI interviewing his then current employer as well as family, friends, and neighbors. All in I think it took more than six months from start to finish - all with no guarantee he'd be hired (and remember, his then current employer had to be made aware due to the FBI interview which was done close to the start of the process, months before he was able to serve his notice - it was terribly awkward). So, if my husband decides to leave his position, the US government will need to start over from scratch to replace him.
Clearly this doesn't apply for every person or position. If my husband were to seek employment in the interim, he'd have to get permission to do so. I don't know if he's even permitted to quit his job while the shutdown is happening. Side gigs can get pretty complicated to as many Feds need clearance:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opin...s-damage-national-security-column/2563858002/ Meanwhile his position also depends on his credit-worthiness (he can't be in financial straits and therefore susceptible to bribery). Finally, the best move for him if he were to move on, would be to take the opposite side and help the people currently facing off against his agency. That's big time money. But it's also dead in the water now due to the shutdown.
My anxiety is growing that this is all being done purposefully as both a distraction and a way to cripple the government. It's also dispiriting. My husband doesn't want to take the other side, he wants to be pursuing those people, not aiding them in getting away with whatever they're doing. Once this is all over though we're going to have to take a hard look at what's the best call for our family. In addition, I had hoped to leave my public sector company once our children are older to work for the government but that now feels like too many eggs in one basket. I realize this is a black swan event but having lived through a few of those now, it doesn't feel so black swan-ish.
*And one note on the jobs market - this may be a short term dip but my own company has gone into a hiring freeze. I haven't seen it this locked down since 2008. So my anecdotal evidence is that we're starting a downturn and unemployment numbers will soon start rising. In short, there won't be a lot of options for these people.
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