Official Government Shutdown 2023 Thread

[Anonymous]

In the event this does go on for a long time, what happens if excepted Feds just stop showing up or show up and do very minimal work? I imagine morale will be horrible and people may need to find some sort of other work to pay bills.

There will come a breaking point right where people aren’t going to show up for a month straight to not get a paycheck, especially knowing other Feds who are not working will get the same pay.

This whole excepted / non-excepted distinction is creating 2 classes of employees. And it’s not even just having to work, but not even being allowed to use paid leave. Will agencies really make people cancel vacations? What if you are sick or have a sick kid? How can they force you to work through that.

If any private employer tried this they would be sued so how can the government force this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the event this does go on for a long time, what happens if excepted Feds just stop showing up or show up and do very minimal work? I imagine morale will be horrible and people may need to find some sort of other work to pay bills.

There will come a breaking point right where people aren’t going to show up for a month straight to not get a paycheck, especially knowing other Feds who are not working will get the same pay.

This whole excepted / non-excepted distinction is creating 2 classes of employees. And it’s not even just having to work, but not even being allowed to use paid leave. Will agencies really make people cancel vacations? What if you are sick or have a sick kid? How can they force you to work through that.

If any private employer tried this they would be sued so how can the government force this?

In the 2018-2019 shutdown TSA employees started calling in sick and it caused delays at some airports. I wish more of them had done more of that and sooner, politicians would respond to no air travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the event this does go on for a long time, what happens if excepted Feds just stop showing up or show up and do very minimal work? I imagine morale will be horrible and people may need to find some sort of other work to pay bills.

There will come a breaking point right where people aren’t going to show up for a month straight to not get a paycheck, especially knowing other Feds who are not working will get the same pay.

This whole excepted / non-excepted distinction is creating 2 classes of employees. And it’s not even just having to work, but not even being allowed to use paid leave. Will agencies really make people cancel vacations? What if you are sick or have a sick kid? How can they force you to work through that.

If any private employer tried this they would be sued so how can the government force this?

Excepted employees- specifically air traffic control - calling out sick is what ended the last shutdown. Once you call out they are supposed to place you in furlough status (although that's not observed super strictly everywhere).

[Anonymous]

I was excepted last go around and while whole weeks of A/L needed to be cancelled, if there wete medical appts or someone had to stay home with a sick kid, we just used the furlough status on the timecards for those hours.

[Anonymous]

With a Democratic administration, we can expect to have the excepted federal workforce be pulled back much earlier — Nat’l Parks closed, air traffic controllers not staffed, etc. (The essential health/safety/defense/law enforcement will continue to function.) A lapse under a Republican administration is very mild from the public’s perspective; not so under a Democratic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the event this does go on for a long time, what happens if excepted Feds just stop showing up or show up and do very minimal work? I imagine morale will be horrible and people may need to find some sort of other work to pay bills.

There will come a breaking point right where people aren’t going to show up for a month straight to not get a paycheck, especially knowing other Feds who are not working will get the same pay.

This whole excepted / non-excepted distinction is creating 2 classes of employees. And it’s not even just having to work, but not even being allowed to use paid leave. Will agencies really make people cancel vacations? What if you are sick or have a sick kid? How can they force you to work through that.

If any private employer tried this they would be sued so how can the government force this?

In the 2018-2019 shutdown TSA employees started calling in sick and it caused delays at some airports. I wish more of them had done more of that and sooner, politicians would respond to no air travel.

Honestly I would not want to get on an airplane during a government shutdown. You just know the TSA agents are distracted and that morale is low all around. They maybe even be exhausted from picking up other type of shift work to pay bills. I 100% support any sort of public-interacting fed calling out and wreaking havoc so the general public fully understands what they’ve voted for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With a Democratic administration, we can expect to have the excepted federal workforce be pulled back much earlier — Nat’l Parks closed, air traffic controllers not staffed, etc. (The essential health/safety/defense/law enforcement will continue to function.) A lapse under a Republican administration is very mild from the public’s perspective; not so under a Democratic.

Interesting. I was furloughed under Obama, but not the 2018 shutdown. Maybe I won’t be forced to work after all.

But either way I hope this doesn’t happen. It’s terrible for the federal workforce. It’s terrible for families of Feds and contractors, inconvenient to the public, and wastes money all around.

[Anonymous]

nope. give the republicans what they want--chaos! shut it down. Keep showing the public that you can't govern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't see this shutdown lasting longer than 10-15 days. House Dems and moderate republicans have already said they are willing to support a short term clean CR. they just can't get McCarthy to bring the bill to the floor because he will lose his speakership (unless dems support him). With this, the pressure would be on McCarthy to put his ego and ambitions aside and just bring that bill to the floor. Republicans will already lose the narrative as they always do with shutdowns, but this could be catastrophic for them and McCarthy if they don't accept the bi-partisian approach here.

Also, I don't understand McCarthy. He already supported the bi-partisian debt deal. That's what started this trouble for him with the freedom caucus. Dude you are already on the books for supporting the bi-partisian budget deal. and this shutdown will end with a bi-partisian agreement. so let the crazies challenge your speakership. cut a deal with moderate dems to save yourself.

This is why I'm not convinced it's even going to happen. The number of people on Congress who don't want to close is so much higher than those who do, they can do a run around the crazies if they really want to. The obstacles aren't intractable policy issues, it's truly just arbitrary partisanship. It's very solvable.

That said, my dad said "why would you expect moderate Republicans to break from their party to help the country when they haven't in the last decade?" Which is a fairly good point, if Jan 6 didn't do it, why today?

That’s exactly why I think it will happen and last a long time. Genuine policy differences are amenable to negotiation and some resolution, or at least a final decision.
What can one side possibly offer when the issue is arbitrary partisanship from the other side?
There’s no way out except for the idiots in the right side of aisle to let go of some of that arbitrary partisanship and Injust don’t see that happening.

[Anonymous]

How long do we think this will last? Trial balloon or prolonged standoff? Similar to Trump shutdown or no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:nope. give the republicans what they want--chaos! shut it down. Keep showing the public that you can't govern.

Americans keep supporting them?? I’m convinced there is an anarchist movement going on in our country right now. The GOP are anarchists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long do we think this will last? Trial balloon or prolonged standoff? Similar to Trump shutdown or no?

If it happens—which still seems unlikely—it’ll last for no longer than six days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:nope. give the republicans what they want--chaos! shut it down. Keep showing the public that you can't govern.

Americans keep supporting them?? I’m convinced there is an anarchist movement going on in our country right now. The GOP are anarchists.

now, now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long do we think this will last? Trial balloon or prolonged standoff? Similar to Trump shutdown or no?

If it happens—which still seems unlikely—it’ll last for no longer than six days.

Is your thinking a short term CR will pass? I don't see a full year happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the event this does go on for a long time, what happens if excepted Feds just stop showing up or show up and do very minimal work? I imagine morale will be horrible and people may need to find some sort of other work to pay bills.

There will come a breaking point right where people aren’t going to show up for a month straight to not get a paycheck, especially knowing other Feds who are not working will get the same pay.

This whole excepted / non-excepted distinction is creating 2 classes of employees. And it’s not even just having to work, but not even being allowed to use paid leave. Will agencies really make people cancel vacations? What if you are sick or have a sick kid? How can they force you to work through that.

If any private employer tried this they would be sued so how can the government force this?

So, business as usual?