Where are the laid off feds supposed to work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since no one seems to be offering real solutions, I'm going to ask again in the hopes that someone will: what sorts of jobs are professional, college-educated, white collar workers who have been 'reduced' from the federal government supposed to do? If a person is currently making 125,000 per year, taking a payout to 100,000 might be doable, but no one is going to waste their time making 30,000 per year at McDonalds. That won't even pay for child care. The question is: are there currently enough white collar jobs empty in the country to accommodate these people? And, if not, how does it benefit the country to have a large number of these individuals unemployed?

You find a job that pays you what the market seems you to be worth. If you cannot secure a similarly salaried job then you have a problem.

DP. Yes this is the micro level way of looking at things. But on a macro level a bunch of laid off white collared workers who cannot replace their salaries is going to trickle down. Suddenly the mid career person making 150k has to take a job making 100k, which pushes out the people who would have worked that 100k job so now they’re taking the 70k jobs and so on. Also the people who just had their HHI slashed are canceling their house cleaners and home renos and lawn care and vacations.

Also not to mention private sector people will now be competing with all the feds for jobs. There are hundreds of applicants for 1 position. What happens to the private sector people who get bumped out of jobs by laid off feds?

None of this is happening in a vacuum. Regardless of how you feel, a bunch of laid of feds is society’s problem too.

I don’t get why people don’t get this. It’s obvious. Nothing is in a vacuum.

Tech had hundreds of thousands of employees laid off following COVID and the economy didn’t collapse. I think a lot of people find the obvious entitlement of federal workers in this thread to be off putting. That’s a generalization but reading some of the comments in this thread make it very challenging for me to empathize with some of these individuals.

Yeah, that's like a week worth of work for DOGE. Apples to oranges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since no one seems to be offering real solutions, I'm going to ask again in the hopes that someone will: what sorts of jobs are professional, college-educated, white collar workers who have been 'reduced' from the federal government supposed to do? If a person is currently making 125,000 per year, taking a payout to 100,000 might be doable, but no one is going to waste their time making 30,000 per year at McDonalds. That won't even pay for child care. The question is: are there currently enough white collar jobs empty in the country to accommodate these people? And, if not, how does it benefit the country to have a large number of these individuals unemployed?

You find a job that pays you what the market seems you to be worth. If you cannot secure a similarly salaried job then you have a problem.

DP. Yes this is the micro level way of looking at things. But on a macro level a bunch of laid off white collared workers who cannot replace their salaries is going to trickle down. Suddenly the mid career person making 150k has to take a job making 100k, which pushes out the people who would have worked that 100k job so now they’re taking the 70k jobs and so on. Also the people who just had their HHI slashed are canceling their house cleaners and home renos and lawn care and vacations.

Also not to mention private sector people will now be competing with all the feds for jobs. There are hundreds of applicants for 1 position. What happens to the private sector people who get bumped out of jobs by laid off feds?

None of this is happening in a vacuum. Regardless of how you feel, a bunch of laid of feds is society’s problem too.

I don’t get why people don’t get this. It’s obvious. Nothing is in a vacuum.

Tech had hundreds of thousands of employees laid off following COVID and the economy didn’t collapse. I think a lot of people find the obvious entitlement of federal workers in this thread to be off putting. That’s a generalization but reading some of the comments in this thread make it very challenging for me to empathize with some of these individuals.

When the tech layoffs happened there was still expanded unemployment benefits to help people weather the storm (not to mention tech companies tend to have good severances) and also there were plenty of tech jobs to apply to. I had a few friends laid off from FAAANG who landed on their feet pretty quickly.

Whereas the fed layoffs are happening all over the country in all sorts of industries. And unlike a tech worker being able to move into another tech job, a lot of government jobs are niche and don’t necessarily have a private sector equivalent. There isn’t a clear place for many of these people to pivot. If you’ve spent your life acquiring regulatory expertise for something that no longer exists you aren’t going to be scooped up by a firm that practices in an entirely different area of regs.

Also it’s not just the fed layoffs. It’s the economic instability caused by this administration + tariffs + funding cuts.

[Anonymous]

1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

Sad you have such a selective/biased memory. There were expanded unemployment benefits during COVID for affected workers, both federal and from many states. The Government definitely cared during COVID. Unlike now where we have the director of OMB saying he wants to inflict trauma on federal workers and chucks out people overnight without even the personalized letter of termination they need to apply for unemployment benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

So, basically for you all this is envy, meanness and general contempt for federal employees based on your own life’s circumstances. Noted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

When you say government didn’t care what exactly do you mean? If you mean the people making the decisions on how to respond then you hopefully know that isn’t a reflection on the rank and file.

If you think individual feds didn’t care then you’re painting us as a monolith and you’re incredibly wrong. I was still a student during the financial crisis in 2008. I certainly cared at the time and found myself unemployed for a few months after graduation myself.

Re: COVID I do not know one.single.fed who was partying during it. Many of us had young kids. I was so busy trying to keep up with my workload (which didn’t stop I was just allowed to work at all hours to get it done) while keeping my young elementary kids up with virtual learning. I also felt terrible for the people who lost their jobs. I was supportive of the expanded unemployment. In the summer of 2020 I pulled my kids out of in-person childcare when our preschool asked us to reserve spots for essential in-person workers (they wanted smaller cohorts more spread out). I tipped extra on take out. I and many other feds cared very much. In fact a lot of us went into government work because we care about public service.

Saying no one cared during other economic crises is flat out wrong.

Also, once again, it’s not just fed lay offs affecting the economy. It’s the whole layoffs + tariffs + cutting funding (which affects nonprofits, education, farming, medical research, etc.) not to mention contractors. It’s so myopic to say this is a rounding error.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since no one seems to be offering real solutions, I'm going to ask again in the hopes that someone will: what sorts of jobs are professional, college-educated, white collar workers who have been 'reduced' from the federal government supposed to do? If a person is currently making 125,000 per year, taking a payout to 100,000 might be doable, but no one is going to waste their time making 30,000 per year at McDonalds. That won't even pay for child care. The question is: are there currently enough white collar jobs empty in the country to accommodate these people? And, if not, how does it benefit the country to have a large number of these individuals unemployed?

In the immortal words of Judge Smails, "the world needs ditch diggers, too."

Do you see how that comment is unhelpful? Why comment at all? Telling people who have become high-level, technical experts in health, education, biology, ecology, etc. to work as ditch diggers is absurd. How does that make the US better?

It wasn't meant to be helpful, quite obviously.

Like another PP, this thread has made it increasingly difficult to feel sorry for federal workers. I understand that everyone is the hero (or victim) of their own story, and that the impending layoffs will cause tremendous hardships for many people. I am absolutely sympathetic to that. But many posters on this thread take is a few steps further - that the federal layoffs - the loss of employment for federal workers - is what will crash the economy, and the country. That is effin' ridiculous. We are facing massive deterioration in services to vulnerable populations, at home and abroad; the elimination of the United States as the de factor leader of Western democracies; huge disruptions in international trade for reasons that aren't entirely clear; and a whole host of other problems. All "organized," if that's the word, by a vengeful narcissist and his ketamine-addled billionaire puppet (or puppetmaster, take your pick) who appears to be doing this for sh!ts and giggles. Anyone who things that unemployed federal workers competing for jobs with private sector workers is the biggest issue we have has their head so far up their own @ss that they can see out of their belly button.

So no, the comment wasn't meant to be helpful. It's meant to convey that on an individual, former federal workers need to do what they have to to provide for themselves and their families, and to resist the temptation to believe that what is happening to you is the greatest crisis facing the country. It isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

Where did you get that 114 million number? Because that’s almost half of the US adult population.

I’m sorry that you weee so bored that you were peeping in on your neighbors windows to see how late they slept. That’s…..odd. I recall it as a very stressful time trying to work late nights because I had to care for my kids during the day due to daycare closures. I would have gladly hired you or one of your laid off college kids to babysit but every e was too afraid to do anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since no one seems to be offering real solutions, I'm going to ask again in the hopes that someone will: what sorts of jobs are professional, college-educated, white collar workers who have been 'reduced' from the federal government supposed to do? If a person is currently making 125,000 per year, taking a payout to 100,000 might be doable, but no one is going to waste their time making 30,000 per year at McDonalds. That won't even pay for child care. The question is: are there currently enough white collar jobs empty in the country to accommodate these people? And, if not, how does it benefit the country to have a large number of these individuals unemployed?

In the immortal words of Judge Smails, "the world needs ditch diggers, too."

Do you see how that comment is unhelpful? Why comment at all? Telling people who have become high-level, technical experts in health, education, biology, ecology, etc. to work as ditch diggers is absurd. How does that make the US better?

It wasn't meant to be helpful, quite obviously.

Like another PP, this thread has made it increasingly difficult to feel sorry for federal workers. I understand that everyone is the hero (or victim) of their own story, and that the impending layoffs will cause tremendous hardships for many people. I am absolutely sympathetic to that. But many posters on this thread take is a few steps further - that the federal layoffs - the loss of employment for federal workers - is what will crash the economy, and the country. That is effin' ridiculous. We are facing massive deterioration in services to vulnerable populations, at home and abroad; the elimination of the United States as the de factor leader of Western democracies; huge disruptions in international trade for reasons that aren't entirely clear; and a whole host of other problems. All "organized," if that's the word, by a vengeful narcissist and his ketamine-addled billionaire puppet (or puppetmaster, take your pick) who appears to be doing this for sh!ts and giggles. Anyone who things that unemployed federal workers competing for jobs with private sector workers is the biggest issue we have has their head so far up their own @ss that they can see out of their belly button.

So no, the comment wasn't meant to be helpful. It's meant to convey that on an individual, former federal workers need to do what they have to to provide for themselves and their families, and to resist the temptation to believe that what is happening to you is the greatest crisis facing the country. It isn't.

It may not be the greatest crisis in the country, but you're on page 65 of a thread in the "Jobs and Careers" forum. This isn't the place to discuss the impacts of massive service cuts, tariffs, and international relations. That's some serious derailing when people are concerned about their jobs *in the appropriate space in the forum.*

Also, layoffs of fed workers combined with cancelation of grants and contracts is obviously going to have negative economic impacts. It's not the only or worse thing going on, but it's far from a small drop in the bucket.

[Anonymous]

This is not like industry layoffs. They are dismantling your government. You may not care about federal employees as individuals but I am surprised at the lack of concern about what this means.

Most Feds will find employment, perhaps not in the cities they are in at the current moment, but the longer term problem is the brain drain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since no one seems to be offering real solutions, I'm going to ask again in the hopes that someone will: what sorts of jobs are professional, college-educated, white collar workers who have been 'reduced' from the federal government supposed to do? If a person is currently making 125,000 per year, taking a payout to 100,000 might be doable, but no one is going to waste their time making 30,000 per year at McDonalds. That won't even pay for child care. The question is: are there currently enough white collar jobs empty in the country to accommodate these people? And, if not, how does it benefit the country to have a large number of these individuals unemployed?

In the immortal words of Judge Smails, "the world needs ditch diggers, too."

Do you see how that comment is unhelpful? Why comment at all? Telling people who have become high-level, technical experts in health, education, biology, ecology, etc. to work as ditch diggers is absurd. How does that make the US better?

It wasn't meant to be helpful, quite obviously.

Like another PP, this thread has made it increasingly difficult to feel sorry for federal workers. I understand that everyone is the hero (or victim) of their own story, and that the impending layoffs will cause tremendous hardships for many people. I am absolutely sympathetic to that. But many posters on this thread take is a few steps further - that the federal layoffs - the loss of employment for federal workers - is what will crash the economy, and the country. That is effin' ridiculous. We are facing massive deterioration in services to vulnerable populations, at home and abroad; the elimination of the United States as the de factor leader of Western democracies; huge disruptions in international trade for reasons that aren't entirely clear; and a whole host of other problems. All "organized," if that's the word, by a vengeful narcissist and his ketamine-addled billionaire puppet (or puppetmaster, take your pick) who appears to be doing this for sh!ts and giggles. Anyone who things that unemployed federal workers competing for jobs with private sector workers is the biggest issue we have has their head so far up their own @ss that they can see out of their belly button.

So no, the comment wasn't meant to be helpful. It's meant to convey that on an individual, former federal workers need to do what they have to to provide for themselves and their families, and to resist the temptation to believe that what is happening to you is the greatest crisis facing the country. It isn't.

It may not be the greatest crisis in the country, but you're on page 65 of a thread in the "Jobs and Careers" forum. This isn't the place to discuss the impacts of massive service cuts, tariffs, and international relations. That's some serious derailing when people are concerned about their jobs *in the appropriate space in the forum.*

Also, layoffs of fed workers combined with cancelation of grants and contracts is obviously going to have negative economic impacts. It's not the only or worse thing going on, but it's far from a small drop in the bucket.

I agree with that. But as I said, there's a lot of people on this thread who are claiming that federal unemployment is the worst thing to happen to this country since WWII, and that it will lead to economic catastrophe. They're the ones derailing - I'm just calling them out for it.

[Anonymous]

For example—I am a lawyer with a very good chance of finding employment in the private sector as a lobbyist or in house government affairs exec. The difference for me, will be that I will likely be making more money and have more flexibility. The difference for YOU dear haters, is that I’ll be working for people that can afford me. That’s not you. And it’s your loss. I am not unique. Feds are supposed to serve the people, not the highest bidders.

[Anonymous]

PA wants you!!
Governor Shapiro is recruiting Feds who’ve been fired, laid off, whatever - priority given. Almost 6,000 positions to fill in PA state government. He signed executive order directing “fed experience” to equal “state experience”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

114 million?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 million people lost their job in like a 60 day period in Financial Crisis and I dont recall anyone in Govt caring

114 million people lost their job in 2020 due to Covid and I dont recall govt workers caring.

I was out of work in Covid with two kids in college laid off and I recall govt workers on the block throwing parties, going to their beach house, sleeping in late swimming in their pool getting full pay for doing nothing all day.

Even if every Fed lost their job there are only 2 million. A rounding error compared to Covid or Financial Crisis.

Sorry, what’s your source for the bolded?