Would you work for free?
Imagine this scenario: You go to work. It's your scheduled payday. You're expecting a paycheck. What you get is your employer telling you he can't pay you today. You'll get your money sometime in the future. Keyword is sometime, because the exact date is unsure. And btw...you get to keep working at that job.
Is that something you would do? Would you work for free?
Today is January 11, 2009. Government shutdown. Day 20. Today is the day it gets serious. Eight hundred government employees will be living the above scenario.
According to a 2017 report by CareerBuilder, nearly 80% of American workers are living paycheck to paycheck. Doing the math means that more than six hundred thousand government workers will be at risk today. The risk is they can't pay their rent or mortgages. The risk is they can't provide food for their families. The risk is they won't be able to afford life saving medicines.
We've seen that these workers have been told to make adjustments. They've been told to suck it up. They've been told to make sacrifices.
Is that something you would do? Would you work for free?
The Coast Guard made recommendations to their workers. The sent a memo called "Managing Your Finances During A Furlough."
"Have a garage sale — clean out your attic, basements, and closets at the same time. Sell unwanted, larger ticket items through the newspaper or online. Offer to watch children, walk pets, or house-sit. Turn a hobby into a stream of revenue, tutoring students, providing sports or music lessons, or becoming a “mystery shopper” to rate retailer’s service."
Hmmm...those are some great ideas....and those are the great minds we expect to protect our seas.
Are those things you would do? Would you work for free?
We've already seen and heard about some of the repercussions of the shutdown. Some TSA agents and air traffic controllers have not come into work. That led to slowdowns at some airports. Expect that to get worse. Some federal employees had purchased new houses and a lost paycheck means they may not be able to close on their new homes. Five thousand FBI agents are on furlough. That puts investigations on hold and puts us all at risk. The IRS may not have money to pay tax refunds.
There have been protests over the shutdown and missed checks in Washington D.C., New York, Utah, Kentucky, Florida and many other places.
Not to mention that national parks and museums are closed.
All this angst over a wall. Our president says he may declare a national emergency to get his wall built. The real emergency is the people who work for his government aren't getting paid.
It doesn't matter what side of that issue you're on. What does matter is that our fellow citizens, many who work to protect us and make our lives better, are in trouble. Their livelihoods and in a lot of cases their lives are at stake.
A lot of you are reading this at your jobs. Today is Friday. It's a big day for receiving a paycheck. When you open that envelope and look at the amount of money, take a moment to think about those who will do the same thing and see $0.00.
Would you accept that? Would you work for free?
Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.