Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:58     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Plus, OP.. their idea of what they can afford is perhaps different than yours. For some people if they can't spend as they are used to, they "can't afford" to be off work. To me, as long as I can keep up with essentials I would be okay. Still freaked out of course, but in the back of my mind I would know we should be okay.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:55     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
OP I can see what you're saying. If someone is going to be worried about how they will get through a shut down, then perhaps it's time to start cutting out non essential spending. Who knows what they've done with their money this far, but NOW is the time to cut back to essentials and save what you can.

There are possibly some who will get through better simply by evaluating their current spending habits and cutting back or out wherever they can.

In general, this isn't a "save" generation. People tend to live to their means, possibly even a little above. If you look back to say our grandparents, a lot were putting away what they could.

Maybe this will be a wake up call for those who could save, but choose not to. Maybe it won't. Be relieved you've done what you have.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:55     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:This feels circular to me. The career federal employees come across as intensely political and 99% behind Obama, which makes the Tea Party types even happier to shut down the Government. I don't know when this stops, but I think some recognition on the part of federal employees that they also work for people with whom they disagree politically is part of the equation.


Huh? Where do you work and what/how many career federal employees do you know? I've been working in federal buildings either as a fed or as a fed contractor for almost 20yrs and can categorically say that my colleagues run the gamut from the far end of each side of the political spectrum.

And based on our conversations both now and back in '96, no fed of either party thinks a government shutdown is a good idea.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:51     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Op here. People are missing my point!

I am talking about people who have paid off their loans to the point of being down to the low interest government loans (people in their late 30s etc), have no kids or sick parents to take care of, and no major health issues.

And yes, I do go out and live life. I go to free museums and openings and other events. I go to dinner and order water and an appetizer or cheap entree. I go to hh and stop after one drink. I don't have a car. I have health issues but they are not hugely expensive.


Why don't you just ask them?
Or are you not really asking but implying something bigger?

There are very few young, unmarried, non-student loan carrying gs14/15. Even though of us who aren't in that group and do have savings are going to find this very, very difficult (especially for those who have already been furloughed this year....I have lost a chunk of what I hoped to save before baby due to furloughs)
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:47     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
I agree with the OP. Our family used to have savings but we just used up all of it to build an addition. DH is a fed employee; we have needed more space for 10 years, and we finally had enough $ to build it. dH built it himself on nights and weekends so it cost a fraction of what it would have cost us to have a contractor build it. It has doubled the value of our house, but still...we had to spend our savings to get there.

dH is fed. employee and he is prob. not essential. I work part-time but by coincidence have less work than I used to right now. My work is building back up but right now is really a bad time for us if there is a gov't shut down.

A few years ago, we had 6 mos of saving in the bank, but now we have very little.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:45     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:Op here. People are missing my point!

I am talking about people who have paid off their loans to the point of being down to the low interest government loans (people in their late 30s etc), have no kids or sick parents to take care of, and no major health issues.

And yes, I do go out and live life. I go to free museums and openings and other events. I go to dinner and order water and an appetizer or cheap entree. I go to hh and stop after one drink. I don't have a car. I have health issues but they are not hugely expensive.


Jesus Christ. Ok, would the four people in the DC area who meet this ridiculous list of qualifiers and are also claiming they can't afford to miss a paycheck please respond to this pressing question? smh
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:42     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here. As I stated, in not talking about gs 7 s etc. I'm talking 100,000 plus no kids.


Ok, my SES makes over 100,000 and has no kids. She also has her mother in hospice care and has been paying for her sister in Detroit (their family was all laid off a few years ago) and their kids.

She won't be able to afford it because she won't be able to afford her mothers care or her sisters family needs.

At least she has been able to support them 'til shutdown.Many can't support their mother in and sister in Detroit.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:41     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
I posted this after coming home from taking public transport from dinner with friends. I drank water and got a ten dollar appetizer. They drove new cars, paid for parking, spent 60 bucks on dinner, and spent half the evening complaining about the shutdown. I sympathized, agreed with them, but in the back of my mind, yes, was thinking, "If you don't have a one month emergency fund, why are you planning a trip to Europe and driving a new car??"
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 12:36     Subject: Re:Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Op here. People are missing my point!

I am talking about people who have paid off their loans to the point of being down to the low interest government loans (people in their late 30s etc), have no kids or sick parents to take care of, and no major health issues.

And yes, I do go out and live life. I go to free museums and openings and other events. I go to dinner and order water and an appetizer or cheap entree. I go to hh and stop after one drink. I don't have a car. I have health issues but they are not hugely expensive.


No, people are getting your point. You are very self satisfied about how you spend your money and you assume to know details of your coworkers' lives and, even more obnoxiously, you think it's fine to judge them. I'm not sure why you started this thread. Was it a humble brag? If so, go you! You are so very much better than your coworkers!

But really, here's your clue stick. Life is complicated. People do the best they can and there will be a day you will hope that someone will not judge you. Think of that day and cultivate some mercy. It's a great antidote to your ugly.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 11:31     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
It's not just government employees. Really, it's a lot of people. I know people making 200k a year who absolutely would be fucked if the next paycheck doesn't come in. Thrift hasn't been a virtue in a long time in this country.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 11:26     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Some people are just really bad with money. It is ridiculous.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 11:26     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:OP, you can't know for sure what kind of expenses they may have. Perhaps some of they racked up a lot of credit card debt which they are aggressively paying down but are too ashamed or embarrassed to say so, even to close friends. I guarantee you that such a scenario is far more common than you might expect. Maybe they are helping out a family member financially and again are reluctant to admit it to friends, either out of embarrassment or respect for the person. You just don't know.

Undoubtedly some of your friends have just not been as good as preparing financially for emergencies as they should have. In that case, have some compassion. They haven't been taught good financial management, or they have emotional reasons for spending that they haven't come to terms with, or whatever. Maybe they have just been careless. In any case, they are going to learn a tough lesson. Surely, you can muster some kind feelings toward friends?


These are good points.
I do sympathize with them verbally. I don't express out loud what I have said here in this forum. But I still think that people who get paid six figures and can't go a month without a paycheck should try to re figure their spending.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 11:24     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:OP, you can't know for sure what kind of expenses they may have. Perhaps some of they racked up a lot of credit card debt which they are aggressively paying down but are too ashamed or embarrassed to say so, even to close friends. I guarantee you that such a scenario is far more common than you might expect. Maybe they are helping out a family member financially and again are reluctant to admit it to friends, either out of embarrassment or respect for the person. You just don't know.

Undoubtedly some of your friends have just not been as good as preparing financially for emergencies as they should have. In that case, have some compassion. They haven't been taught good financial management, or they have emotional reasons for spending that they haven't come to terms with, or whatever. Maybe they have just been careless. In any case, they are going to learn a tough lesson. Surely, you can muster some kind feelings toward friends?


Very well said. I have a friend in this situation -- she makes about #120 in a southern city with a low cost of living, but she has student debt and massive credit card debt from college, before she learned how to make good financial decisions. In her defense her parents had their own issues and didn't teach her, like mine did, not to spend what you don't have. So, though she makes more money than I do, she is constantly worried about money because of the debt. And yet, for her job, she also feels like she has to buy very nice clothes, go out for drinks with coworkers, etc. She is in sales and appearance is important. If she were furloughed for a month or two without a paycheck, she'd be in trouble.

Also, I wonder if when people say they can't "afford" a shutdown they mean they would actually be unable to make the rent, or would have to go into savings. I feel bad for people in the former category but I think it's the case for many. We are lucky to be in the latter category -- two GS-14s. We have savings, we just really, really don't want to use them, particularly as our first child is due in November and as feds we have to take unpaid leave for that anyway. But if we shut down we will have to dip into savings. We can cover our expenses on my DH's salary alone but not mine, and if we shut down there will be no money coming in at all. I know people have said that's what savings are there for, and of course that's right -- but it still really hurts when you hoped to keep it for a true emergency down the line, like unforeseen medical expenses. The annoying thing about the shutdown is that it's foreseeable and completely unnecessary. It shouldn't be an emergency. It shouldn't be happening in the first place.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 11:22     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
I understand, OP. I have a friend who has been making over 6 figures for many years and is single yet he still has debt and lives paycheck to paycheck. It's frustrating to watch. I know a good deal about his finances too since we chat about it so I know for a fact he pisses it away.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2013 10:55     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
OP, you can't know for sure what kind of expenses they may have. Perhaps some of they racked up a lot of credit card debt which they are aggressively paying down but are too ashamed or embarrassed to say so, even to close friends. I guarantee you that such a scenario is far more common than you might expect. Maybe they are helping out a family member financially and again are reluctant to admit it to friends, either out of embarrassment or respect for the person. You just don't know.

Undoubtedly some of your friends have just not been as good as preparing financially for emergencies as they should have. In that case, have some compassion. They haven't been taught good financial management, or they have emotional reasons for spending that they haven't come to terms with, or whatever. Maybe they have just been careless. In any case, they are going to learn a tough lesson. Surely, you can muster some kind feelings toward friends?