Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:38     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


The Federal workforce is around one percent of the economy, and firing one percent of them doesn't move the needle at all.

An economist could argue that this will be good for the economy--freeing up skilled workers to work on more productive things in the private sector (see, for example, Argentina).


No, freezing grants and funding will affect universities and labs all over the country. Already there is a hiring freeze and labs discussing closings due to this.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:38     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


The Federal workforce is around one percent of the economy, and firing one percent of them doesn't move the needle at all.

An economist could argue that this will be good for the economy--freeing up skilled workers to work on more productive things in the private sector (see, for example, Argentina).
Why did you complete ignore the comment regarding NIH grants. Also, every article regarding Argentina’s recent austerity measures describes them as having caused a massive recession and record-high poverty.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:32     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


The Federal workforce is around one percent of the economy, and firing one percent of them doesn't move the needle at all.

An economist could argue that this will be good for the economy--freeing up skilled workers to work on more productive things in the private sector (see, for example, Argentina).
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:31     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any MAGAs here ith jobs of the line? Is this what you expected?


It's safe to say that many people voted for Trump knowing that it may cost them their job.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but do you remember what you were all saying when Biden shut down coal? You said they need to "upskill". Learn to code, etc. These were coal miners from generations of coal miners, working in horrible conditions, dying of job related cancer, etc, living out in remote places like the hills of West Virginia. And literally no one on the left cared about these people. It's a lot to ask that these people, and the many people who've been beaten up by Biden's policies, suddenly care about well educated, highly paid people. So, take your own advice. If you think you're too niche to work outside the government (which I doubt), then unskill to something marketable. The government workforce tends to come from a lot of privilege-- leverage it. Network. Do not pity yourself and be a victim.

What was the justification for not offering new coal leases? What was the justification for ending telework? What evidence was there to support each of those decisions? Perhaps there were some differences.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:31     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any MAGAs here ith jobs of the line? Is this what you expected?


It's safe to say that many people voted for Trump knowing that it may cost them their job.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but do you remember what you were all saying when Biden shut down coal? You said they need to "upskill". Learn to code, etc. These were coal miners from generations of coal miners, working in horrible conditions, dying of job related cancer, etc, living out in remote places like the hills of West Virginia. And literally no one on the left cared about these people. It's a lot to ask that these people, and the many people who've been beaten up by Biden's policies, suddenly care about well educated, highly paid people. So, take your own advice. If you think you're too niche to work outside the government (which I doubt), then unskill to something marketable. The government workforce tends to come from a lot of privilege-- leverage it. Network. Do not pity yourself and be a victim.


I think zero people voted for Trump knowing it would cost them their jobs. Zero.

I also don't know where this rhetoric about "no one on the left cares about coal miners" is coming from.

What a weird take on this whole thing.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:30     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:Trump just fired 12 IGs. It’s crazy town.


Didn't Obama fire all the Bush IGs that didn't resign? And some IG slots he never filled, because he didn't want IGs investigating those departments.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:27     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any MAGAs here ith jobs of the line? Is this what you expected?


It's safe to say that many people voted for Trump knowing that it may cost them their job.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but do you remember what you were all saying when Biden shut down coal? You said they need to "upskill". Learn to code, etc. These were coal miners from generations of coal miners, working in horrible conditions, dying of job related cancer, etc, living out in remote places like the hills of West Virginia. And literally no one on the left cared about these people. It's a lot to ask that these people, and the many people who've been beaten up by Biden's policies, suddenly care about well educated, highly paid people. So, take your own advice. If you think you're too niche to work outside the government (which I doubt), then unskill to something marketable. The government workforce tends to come from a lot of privilege-- leverage it. Network. Do not pity yourself and be a victim.


But those jobs were horrible anyway, so it would ultimately benefit them to find jobs that aren't killing them (if the government made more of an effort to support them where they lived, of course).

Remote work provided opportunities for workers to move back to their families in areas with limited work and start families of their own. How are they supposed to find something else in their small town 2+ hours from major cities if remote work ceases to exist?

We’re yet again failing small towns.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:23     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


Agreed. The impact will not be limited to feds. And with regulatory agencies and DOJ frozen, biglaw will take a big hit.


This is my fear, that we're heading toward a recession. Didn't Elon say it was going to be painful?
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:13     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Agreed. The impact will not be limited to feds. And with regulatory agencies and DOJ frozen, biglaw will take a big hit.


Exactly - compliance counseling, regulatory filings, administrative defense (SEC, CFTC), federal litigation are the bread and butter of DC firms. I don't know why people think BigLaw is going to be spared. I worked in antitrust and my husband worked in banking regulation in the early 2000s, and there were layoffs at many firms when enforcement slowed during the Bush admin. The impact now will be more significant.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:11     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:Any MAGAs here ith jobs of the line? Is this what you expected?


It's safe to say that many people voted for Trump knowing that it may cost them their job.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but do you remember what you were all saying when Biden shut down coal? You said they need to "upskill". Learn to code, etc. These were coal miners from generations of coal miners, working in horrible conditions, dying of job related cancer, etc, living out in remote places like the hills of West Virginia. And literally no one on the left cared about these people. It's a lot to ask that these people, and the many people who've been beaten up by Biden's policies, suddenly care about well educated, highly paid people. So, take your own advice. If you think you're too niche to work outside the government (which I doubt), then unskill to something marketable. The government workforce tends to come from a lot of privilege-- leverage it. Network. Do not pity yourself and be a victim.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 08:06     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's okay. You'll be okay if you get laid off. You'll find an even better job.


Literally this happens to only the lucky.

I know plenty of people who now work for 50% of what they were earning. How is that "even better"? Maybe it's "even better" for those in India and other low cost centers, but definitely not for American based people.


My spouse was remote in big tech, made good-for-us money, had a baby, got laid off a year later. He found a federal ladder role and makes less, but we figured it was stable. Surprise, he's at a targeted agency in one that should have never been a political issue. So 2 years later, he's probably going to be laid off again. Our state pays poorly considering the COL, probably half of what he originally made. We're not really near a lot of private sector jobs, and remote is disappearing. Thankfully we bought while interest rates were low, but we're going to struggle to afford our home, and rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is close to our mortgage.

My life peaked in 2021, and I imagine for many it peaked around 2019, based on Trump’s win. Despite what they hope, it’s not getting better any time soon. 🙁
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 07:41     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


Agreed. The impact will not be limited to feds. And with regulatory agencies and DOJ frozen, biglaw will take a big hit.


All of this. And private sector needn't be smug. With a hugely educated workforce hungry for work, and the capitalists in private firms already trimming and offshoring, there will be more trimming of fat there and competition for jobs at lower levels.

Like said above, it will be a mess and a lot of institutional knowledge and maturity will be lost. It will be like a strange startup land of frustration and shareholders will take a hit, be enraged, top bosses will swap out and it starts again. This is not 2 but 10 huge steps backwards for our economy.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 07:36     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


+1. It’s going to impact grant funding in many different areas, not just DEI.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 07:36     Subject: Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:Nobody got fired. They’re on admin leave with full pay and benefits. Boo hoo.


Many have gotten fired including IGs in the middle of the night.
Anonymous
Post 01/25/2025 07:35     Subject: Re:Forget about telework for now--worry about our jobs
Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry, it’s been a shock of a week. And it won’t just be feds. With the new situation at NiH, it will spread to academia, universities, etc and many more people will lose their jobs. A recession is ahead. Plan now for how to get through the next few years.
What a mess.


Agreed. The impact will not be limited to feds. And with regulatory agencies and DOJ frozen, biglaw will take a big hit.