This. I hate trump. But we lived outside DC for covid too, and the tale of two cities between the NE and how the rest of the country was living was mind blowing. Not to say that one way was right vs wrong, but to have conversations with my friends in DC during covid, it was like having a conversation with someone on Mars. They just were unaware that life was moving on outside DC. |
| I do wonder if it is just one person answering every single post in this thread with a negative outlook. That person seems pretty assured of their vision, but I don't think that DOGE cuts are actually causing the next Great Depression. |
Given that we will see a correction in the market, I’m not sure hedge funds are safe from Trump’s chaos. But maybe when they cut the federal employees who do HR background checks on feds and outsource it a Musk owned contractor, you can pivot. |
I think there are 15 regular fed posters on the jobs forum, and i've been watching their downward spiral into delusion over the last 2 months. Listen, I totally get why they are spiraling. I probably would too. But it is still detached from reality, and they're feeding off each other in this forum. |
What houses are all these lawyers going to help close on? Existing home sales are down because of high mortgage rates. The Fed isn’t going to lower rates at its next meeting and even if they did, it’s unlikely to impact high mortgage rates. This is actually a really interesting article about Federal Reserve rates and its impact on mortgages. https://www.investopedia.com/heres-what-markets-now-predict-for-2025-fed-rate-cuts-and-what-it-could-mean-for-mortgage-rates-11686953 |
The OP asked what jobs/industries aren't getting messed up by the current admin's "hackjob". If real estate closings are down, that's a trend that's been ongoing for a year. It has nothing to do with this administration, and is unlikely to be impacted by what's currently happening in this administration. Other stuff lawyers in mid size metros do: small business filings, small claims court issues, dui proceedings, trusts & estates.... All stuff that will continue. |
This is my read on it too. They have never experienced any job loss or uncertainty and don't know how to handle it. |
Please don't take it as indicative of all feds. A lot of us has moved in and out of sectors. It is true that what is happening is very traumatizing (on purpose!) and it seems all-consuming, particularly to those in heavily-impacted agencies (e.g., USAID). They are (occasionally joined by myself) having normal reactions to truly abnormal circumstances. What I don't like is when they feed each other's (and my own) hopelessness, and start discussing suicide. This isn't going to help anyone, least of all themselves. |
Agree with all this too. Listen, as I said, I get why people are spiraling. This is extremely traumatic. I would be taking on incredibly stress from this experience too. And i get why the feds are all talking to each other, and getting on this forum. It is helpful to have a sounding board. And I get why, for them, it feels like the entire world is imploding. But just because their reaction and feelings are totally valid does not actually make it true that the entire world is imploding. It just feels that way to them, and their feelings are valid and normal feelings given the trauma they are suffering. But the world is not exploding outside of DC. If i asked my neighbors here in my SE state, I suspect most of them would not even be aware that anything is happening in DC other than "Musk is cutting govt waste", which for the vast majority of the country (even democrats outside of DC) is superficially understood to be a "good thing". The mood is actually quite good here. |
Exactly this and I am not looking forward to life like that even if I could afford to have a private security. |
To regain some perspective, I read headlines at newspapers in other major cities. Aside from reminding me that journalism is nearly entirely dead, this does let me know that the DC-area concerns are indeed different from those across the nation. |
I lived through a collapse of the federal govt in USSR in 90's. It was ugly for everyone and will affect all of us because things provided by a stable government are not that easily visible until they become unavailable. Most people are just so "me, me, me" focused and lack any sort of historic perspective on how bad this shit can get if we let wealthy widen the wealth gap to the point were we live in a sort of Dickensian future. Go read Dickens or Steinbeck if you think it can never get bad in the western world. Bottom is limitless! "Boar on the floor" game, anyone! |
I also lived in a former USSR state, and I think those of us that did are hearing a lot of alarm bells. There are differences, of course, but the similarities are starting to become concerning. I agree that hopelessness can take on a form of spiraling, but ignorance of what's happening in your own government is dangerous. The eyerolls and the responses like "the rest of the country doesn't care about this" or "no one else is affected at all right now" responses are not very enlightening; of course a lot of people don't care about things until they are personally affected. This recession, which seems foregone by this point, is going to take some time to roll out. I truly hope that I am wrong, but I truly think many people who aren't paying attention at all right now will be personally affected by the end of this year. I want to be prepared and not caught off guard. |
My local paper is full of headlines about the effects on our area: How Philadelphia's probationary federal employees are dealing with mass layoffs: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/philadelphia-probationary-employee-layoff-federal-20250228.html As DOGE ethos grips federal agencies, Montgomery County says it has not received critical funding for unhoused residents: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/montgomery-county-homeless-funding-doge-housing-urban-development-20250228.html Penn faculty criticize university plan to reduce graduate admissions by a third in response to NIH funding cuts: https://www.inquirer.com/education/upenn-graduate-student-admissions-nih-funding-trump-20250227.html Musk SpaceX antennas installed at South Jersey FAA Building where DOGE spurred federal worker firings: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/elon-musk-firings-antennas-faa-hughes-20250227.html Tariff threats and uncertainty could weigh on consumers and drag down economy:https://www.inquirer.com/business/report-tariff-threats-trade-war-uncertainty-less-consumer-spending-weakening-united-states-economy-20250228.html IRS layoffs include Philadelphia workers: https://www.inquirer.com/business/irs-layoffs-president-trump-philadelphia-20250220.html |
FCPS shared a couple of days ago that they had their highest retention rate in years. I believe it was 90%. Also, if federal funding gets cut to Title 1 and IDEA, districts will likely have to spread out budget and possible staffing cuts more broadly. I'm a teacher who just relocated to the area with my spouse, and I'm worried. |