More Furlough Fun

[neadods]

I've been offline the last few days so that I could start clearing out my cluttered library. My mother may be right; I might have too many books.

But I thought I would pass on the latest furlough fun a friend passed on before I catch up online tomorrow.

Fact: The holidays paid for by contracting companies never match 100% with the holidays the government takes. (For example, my company gives me the Friday after Thanksgiving off, when the fed is open, but does not give me Veterans Day off, which is a federal holiday. Yes, you take personal leave for times like that.)

Fact: Even contractors who are back at work (lucky Pentagon!) have probably used up a lot of their personal leave to deal with the furlough.

2+2=even people who went back to work are statistically likely to be taking tomorrow not as a holiday, but leave without pay. Those who are out of work will be taking it as *more* leave without pay - the beginning of the third week of shutdown, which means that anyone on a biweekly pay schedule will lose an entire paycheck.

Think about that, as the Christmas decorations show up in stores and the ads start. The lucky ones will be shorted tomorrow's wages. The unlucky ones are out half a month's wages.

The ripples from the shutdown have only just begun.

And I hear that Cruz and Palin had the nerve to protest the shutting of the WWII memorial. Because that's THE most important thing that's missing right now, apparently. The only ones hurting right now are veterans and tourists.

Comments

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

I disagree; I think he has a lot to lose, both in personal pride and as regards place-in-history, which he doesn't want besmirched. I have no idea what he's really thinking, of course, but I doubt he wants the first black president to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. (I guess "high crimes" means "felonies"?)

And I don't think he wants the distraction, right now.

But hey, I could be wrong.